Blueberry Honey: Is It Made From Blueberries?

In May, the highbush blueberries of southeastern Massachusetts hang with thousands of tiny white bells. Bumblebees bounce from flower to flower, and honeybees work them steadily from morning to evening. A few weeks later, if the weather has been kind, there’s blueberry honey in the hive.

Quick answer: Blueberry honey is made by bees from the nectar of blueberry blossoms, which bloom in May in southern New England. It contains no blueberries or blueberry juice. It’s usually light to medium amber, with a mild, buttery flavor and a soft fruity finish. It’s made in limited amounts where blueberries grow in quantity, including the farms and wetlands of southeastern Massachusetts and the blueberry barrens of Maine.

Where does blueberry honey come from?

Blueberry honey comes from the flowers of blueberry bushes. In Massachusetts that’s mainly highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), a native shrub of swamps and wet woods that’s also the parent of most cultivated blueberries. In Maine and eastern Canada, lowbush (wild) blueberries cover vast barrens, and beekeepers truck in tens of thousands of colonies each spring to pollinate them.

Blueberries are cousins of cranberries; both are in the genus Vaccinium. Their bell-shaped flowers hang downward and release pollen best when shaken, which bumblebees do by vibrating. Honeybees can’t buzz, but they make up for it in numbers.

Is blueberry honey made from blueberries?

No. Honey is made from nectar, and nectar comes from the flower, not the fruit. Blueberry honey doesn’t taste like a blueberry muffin, and it’s never purple.

If you see bright purple “blueberry honey” or honey that tastes strongly of berries, it’s honey with blueberry juice or flavoring added. That can be tasty, but it’s a different product. Check the ingredients.

What does blueberry honey taste like?

• Color: light to medium amber.
• Flavor: mild, smooth and buttery, sometimes with a faint fruity or lemony note.
• Texture: silky when fresh; it crystallizes over time like most raw honey.

Because bees also visit dandelions, fruit trees and other spring flowers, blueberry honey from small farms is usually a blueberry-dominant blend, and it changes a little each year.

How do you use blueberry honey?

Its mild, rounded flavor makes it a crowd-pleaser.

• In tea and lemonade, where it sweetens without taking over.
• On pancakes, biscuits and toast, especially with butter.
• In baking, in muffins, cornbread and blueberry pie.
• With fresh cheeses like ricotta, mozzarella and goat cheese.
• Over fruit and yogurt, naturally with fresh blueberries.

Why is blueberry honey hard to find?

The bloom is short, about two to three weeks, and comes early in the season when colonies are still building up and need much of the nectar themselves. Cool, rainy Mays keep bees in the hive. In good years, beekeepers near blueberry fields can harvest a small, separate batch; in poor years, there’s little or none.

Frequently asked questions

Does blueberry honey have blueberries in it?

No. True blueberry honey is pure honey made from blueberry blossom nectar. Honey with blueberry fruit or flavor added should list those on the label.

Is blueberry honey healthier than other honey?

There’s no good evidence it is. Blueberry fruit is rich in anthocyanins, but those are in the berries, not the nectar. Blueberry honey is a lovely raw honey, not a health supplement.

When is blueberry honey harvested?

In southern New England, blueberries bloom in May, and beekeepers who keep it separate harvest in late May or June, before summer flowers mix in.

Is blueberry honey light or dark?

Usually light to medium amber. It’s lighter than buckwheat or knotweed honey and similar to many spring wildflower honeys.

What other honeys come from the South Coast?

Cranberry, summer wildflower and late-summer knotweed honey. See our Southcoast Massachusetts honey guide.

Sources

• National Honey Board, honey varietals.
• University of Maine Cooperative Extension, wild blueberry pollination.
• Delaplane KS, Mayer DF. Crop Pollination by Bees. CABI, 2000.

Blueberry honey is spring in a jar: light, gentle and gone quickly. If you’re on the South Coast, ask for it at the Honey House in early summer, and read about our other seasonal honeys in the seasonal honey guide.