Ceanothus honey

Flavour and aroma

Aroma

light florals, fresh hay, faint spice

Flavour

soft floral, clean sweetness, faint cinnamon

Finish

Short and clean.

Flavour character

• Floral and fruity — floral
• Spicy and sharp — spicy

Colour, texture and crystallisation

Colour

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

Very pale, near water-white to pale straw.

On setting: Sets to a fine opaque white.

Texture

Runny; Soft set; Creamed; Crystallised

Crystallisation

Fast, step 4 of 5, from very slow to very fast

Fast — granulates within weeks; sets with a fine crystal.

Sets quickly to a fine white grain, and is frequently sold creamed for that reason.

Typical composition

Moisture

14–17.5% (typically 16%)

Fructose

35–40% (typically 37%)

Glucose

33–39% (typically 36%)

pH

3.6–4.3 (typically 3.9)

Electrical conductivity

0.1–0.4 mS/cm (typically 0.25 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

Ceanothus species, principally Ceanothus cuneatus and Ceanothus integerrimus, in California chaparral and foothill woodland.

Origins

California and southern Oregon, in the Sierra foothills and Coast Ranges.

Origin pages

• California
• Pacific Northwest

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

Typical harvest

March to June (northern hemisphere)

A spring flow following the winter rains, earlier at lower elevations.

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

The bees

Ceanothus produces very little nectar per flower and enormous numbers of flowers, and it is a major pollen source as well. California's exceptional native bee fauna works it heavily, and honey bees are relative newcomers to the chaparral.

Usual processing

Raw, Coarsely strained, Spun (centrifugally extracted), Creamed (seeded and controlled-set)

Chaparral honey production has been reduced substantially by the frequency and severity of California wildfires, which remove both the shrubs and the apiaries.

What to do with it

A good pale spreading honey with just enough character to be noticed.

SpreadingAt the tableDessertsBakingIn hot drinks

Pairings

• Fresh chèvre

  Delicate on delicate.

• Sourdough toast

  Straightforward.

• Fresh stone fruit

  Mild enough to let the fruit lead.

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.

History and traditional use

Ceanothus is a nitrogen-fixing pioneer that regenerates after fire, so the chaparral honey resource has always been tied to a fire cycle. What has changed is the frequency of that cycle.