Assa-peixe honey

Flavour and aroma

Aroma

light blossom, warm hay, clean wax, faint herb

Flavour

gentle floral, light caramel, clean sweetness

Finish

Medium and clean.

Flavour character

• Floral and fruity — floral
• Green and herbal — herbaceous
• Warm and cooked — caramel

Colour, texture and crystallisation

Colour

1. Water white0–8 mm
2. Extra white8–17 mm
3. White17–34 mm
4. Extra light amber34–50 mm — this honey
5. Light amber50–85 mm — this honey
6. Amber85–114 mm
7. Dark amber114+ mm

Light amber, bright and clear.

On setting: Sets to a fine pale cream.

Texture

Runny; Thick but pourable; Soft set

Crystallisation

Moderate, step 3 of 5, from very slow to very fast

Moderate — granulates over a few months; sets with a fine crystal.

Granulates over a few months with fine crystals.

Typical composition

Moisture

16–20% (typically 17.8%)

Fructose

37–43% (typically 40%)

Glucose

30–36% (typically 33%)

Glucose-to-fructose ratio

0.74–0.92 (typically 0.82)

pH

3.6–4.4 (typically 4)

Electrical conductivity

0.15–0.5 mS/cm (typically 0.3 mS/cm)

These are typical ranges assembled across published work, not measurements of a specific honey.

What these mean: the sugars and the ratio · moisture · conductivity · how each is measured

Where it comes from

Floral source

Vernonia polyanthes and related species, in the daisy family. It is a pioneer of disturbed ground, so the resource has grown as pasture has been abandoned.

Origins

Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Paraná in southeastern Brazil.

Origin pages

• South America
• Brazil
• Caatinga

Resolved from both directions — origins this honey names, and origins that name it.

Typical harvest

April to July (southern hemisphere)

The end of the Brazilian dry season, when it is often the only substantial nectar source in the landscape.

A typical window for the honey type, HoneyHQ synthesis — not a calendar for any one place.

The bees

Worked overwhelmingly by Africanized honey bees, which dominate Brazilian beekeeping and are — despite their reputation — highly productive and well suited to the climate. Native stingless bees work it heavily too.

Usual processing

Spun (centrifugally extracted), Coarsely strained, Filtered, Raw

Brazil is one of the world's largest honey exporters, and much of what it ships is organic-certified honey from wild and semi-wild flora rather than from planted crops — a genuinely unusual position among large producers.

What to do with it

Brazil's everyday honey, and a genuinely versatile one — mild enough for anything and cheap enough to cook with domestically.

At the tableSpreadingIn hot drinksBakingDessertsDressings

Pairings

• Fresh cheese and pão de queijoClassic

  The domestic pairing, and both are mild enough not to compete.

• Tropical fruit

  Adds sweetness without covering the fruit.

• Coffee

  Dissolves cleanly and adds nothing that would fight the roast.

Similar honeys and substitutes

Three different questions with different answers: a honey that tastes alike can behave differently in a recipe, and the same set texture says nothing about flavour. Each list is chosen from the recorded fields that matter to its question — and, where tasting panels or specifications described both honeys, the terms they share — and every suggestion says which, and what will be different. Compare it side by side or build a tasting flight.