Honey Taste Testing!

The members of Blue Planet Natural World Club brought all their finest, gourmet tastebuds to the special annual honey tasting!

We at Caterham Prep have the bee as a symbol, not just in science, but in all aspects of our school life – from the Caterham Way to our team sports kits! We even have honey-making hives on site and clubs for any budding apiarists (beekeepers) or melittologists (bee academics)!

We had a choice of six honeys from around the world including Greece and the Greek Islands, France and Britain. The honeys chosen were selected for the diverse resources the bees would have had in their harvesting areas which potentially influence the flavour.

The results were in during the final taste-off voting. Sadly, the British set honey gained ‘nil points’ – notes on the flavour included it was pleasant but lacked the complex flavours some of the others had. Gaining a few votes were the Greek Island Spring Blossom and Orange Blossom – notes here were that they were very tasty, but the sweetness overrode the delicate blossoms. The Greek Wild Thyme and Multi Floral honey and the French ‘Miel de Fleurs’ Flower honey were both incredibly popular for their texture and flavours. However, it was the Greek pine and fir tree honey came in the clear winner for its fresh, aromatic notes. Mrs Hills-Matthews and Mrs Davidson both said it may not have been their first choice on the shelf in a supermarket when you have so many beautiful floral honeys to choose from, but the flavour was so pleasantly distinctive we learned, much like a book, not to judge a honey by its cover!

An excellent event which was thoroughly enjoyed by all – great gastronomy everyone!