Gold Standard Honey will have available this year 4 single origin sourced honeys. In addition to the Oklahoma Native Mixed Floral Honey we will have Texas Tallow, Wisconsin Mixed Floral Honey and North Dakota Canola. All 4 have their distinctive flavors and regional pollens.
Also, I found the leading melissopalyntologist (someone who studies pollen in honey) Dr. Vaughn Bryant of Texas A&M University to do the analysis of the 4 honeys. I was very excited to find that Oklahoma Native 2013 honey had a high percentage of Willow pollens, from what I understand this is a major tree pollen offender to many people in our part of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Native Mixed Floral Honey also, and hold on to your hat, has 10.4% poison ivy and sumac pollens. Dr. Bryant has stated to me that he has eaten 100% poison ivy honey. This honey will actually build up your resistance to the irritant effects of poison ivy just as local pollen build up ones allergy resistance. I also need to add here that we pull our honey from Oklahoma in July, long before the ragweed is in bloom in Oklahoma. So the Oklahoma Native Mixed Floral Honey has no ragweed pollens; however, Gold Standard Honey Wisconsin Mixed Floral Honey does have ragweed pollen as you will observe in the following table I summarized from Dr. Bryant’s report (view here).
If you suffer from ragweed allergies I would say taking about a tablespoon a day, as commonly recommended, to help build up your immunity for the coming fall season in a few months. Also, I need to point out that the Wisconsin Mixed Floral Honey has the noted Basswood pollens from the Basswood tree which is indigenous to the northern United States. The Basswood flavor is something we southerners rarely have the opportunity to taste.
I hope to have all 4 single sourced honeys in many Reasor’s stores in about a month. FYI I will be at the Bixby Reasor’s store this Saturday, April 26th, from 1-5 with samples from all 4 sources. Because we need to use migratory beekeeping methods to bring these unique honeys to you, there are Tallow pollens found in all 4 honeys. This is due to the residual Tallow left in the boxes as they are transported from region to region.
I am most happy to bring these 4 distinctive honeys to the good people of the Tulsa area, deciding your favorite, for taste or health, is part of the fun. Enjoy.