You'll find Tasmanian honey for sale in farm markets, specialty shops, and as an ingredient on the menu of fine restaurants.
Honey Basics
Honey is made by bees who feed on the nectar of plants, and the flavor of that nectar influences the taste of the honey. (Bees aren't that particular, but if there's a profusion of a certain type of nectar available, chances are their honey is going to taste like that nectar, earning the term "monofloral".) It's analogous to the concept of terroir in wine, and foodie connoisseurs are starting to give honey the terroir treatment.Tasmania is particularly celebrated for its Leatherwood honey, made from bees that feed on the blossoms of Leatherwood trees -- trees that are unique to Tasmania.
Miellerie Honey
In Tasmania, keep your eye out for Miellerie Honey, owned and run by Yves Ginat, a passionate apiarist who is originally from France, but has made Tasmania his home. He's pictured here in his shed, which, at the moment is not open to the public, although he hopes to be open one day a week in the near future. (In the meantime, you can purchase his honey at these Tasmanian retailers. He sells about 60% of his product in Tasmania, and the rest in Melbourne and Sydney.)Above a few doodles, he's drawn a map to point out the places where he's placed his bee hives to capture different flavors of honey, which includes Leatherwood, Prickly Box, Blue Gum, Tea Tree (also known as Manuka), and a honey called Lake Pedder Nectar, which bees have fed on species including banksia, tea tree, button grass, melaleuca and peppermint. Ginat suggests using Prickly Box honey as an ice cream topper, Lake Pedder Nectar with game meats, and to go simple with Leatherwood honey: "Take a fresh apple, slice it very fine...spread Leatherwood on top." Et voilà!
