Quick Answer: What Does Honeycomb Taste Like?
The honeycomb is sweet without being too strong. And as you move it around in your mouth, its flaky texture becomes chewy, almost like chewing gum. Although honeycomb has a clear-cut sweet taste, the underlying flavor can vary. And that is because the flowers that the bees visit differs from region to region. So the nectar of the flowers affects the final taste and color of the honey in the combs.
This is a detailed taste guide on what honeycomb tastes like.
Let’s start!
What Is Honeycomb?
Honeycomb refers to the unprocessed honey inside the wax comb.
It is a natural product made by bees to store honey pollen or house their larvae. It consists of hexagonal cells made from beeswax, which contains raw honey.
Raw honey differs from processed honey because it is not pasteurized or filtered.
You can eat the honeycomb as a whole, including the honey and waxy cells encompassing it.
What Does Honeycomb Taste Like?
Honeycomb has a sweet and pleasing flavor. The hexagonal pockets of wax have a refreshing and sweet taste that is not very intense. Honeycomb tastes different from other honey you buy from the stores because it has not been processed at all.
Honeycomb has a flaky texture that becomes chewy like chewing gum. Note that every honeycomb does not taste the same because different flowers have different nectar that bees suck, which changes the taste.
Honeycomb tastes better than processed honey. Even the best ones on the shelves cannot rival because it’s the purest form of honey.
Honey near the inner side of your honeycomb may be crystallized a bit, which is why it might taste a bit sweeter than regular honey.
The comb has a crispy texture, and it’s pretty similar to eating a wax-bottle candy with honey inside in place of juice.
Here’s the link to the video 🡪
Can You Honeycomb Directly?
Honeycomb is the purest form of honey. It’s perfectly safe to consume, Unlike the honey from local stores, which is filtered and tastes altered with added sweeteners.
You can eat honeycomb as it is or pair it with various foods. It is perfectly safe to eat both the honey and the comb, and they are known for their fresh taste.
What Is Honeycomb Made Of?
Honeycomb is a mix of honey, beeswax, and bee pollen. After bees gather nectar from flowers in a honey sac inside their bodies for storage, bees mix their saliva with the nectar. The salivary enzymes convert the sugar from the nectar into honey. After that, the bees get to their hives, and the honeycomb comes into play.
Honeycomb is a network of hexagonal cylinders made from the secretions of bees.
As they get filled with honey, the bees use another layer of wax to cap them. Honeycomb is made of beeswax.
It is built to store their larvae, honey, and pollen.
Before honeycomb, beeswax is made by bees by consuming honey.
The honeycomb cells are hexagonal, and they serve as homes to raise young bees and as vessels for honey.
Different Ways To Eat Honeycomb
Here are some of the ways you can try –
- Honeycomb makes a fine spread. You can enjoy it with warm bread or English muffins.
- You can use it as a sweetener in desserts or drizzle it on pancakes, vanilla ice cream, waffles, oatmeal, salad, or yogurt.
- Enjoy the simple honeycomb ice cream.
Watch the recipe here 🡪
- You can make honeycomb cookie bars.
- You can make a ginger honeycomb ice cream sandwich.
Watch the recipe here 🡪
- Make honeycomb spongecake. This sponge cake filled with whipped cream and honeycomb tastes delicious.
- You can also make tasty toffee.
Watch the recipe here 🡪
Honeycomb Vs. Processed Honey
Raw honey in honeycomb contains enzymes like glucose oxidase, which give it antimicrobial and antibacterial properties. Such enzymes are not present in most commercial honey as they get destroyed by the heating and filtering process.
The honey from local stores isn’t the same because it’s filtered and boiled. Because honeycomb hasn’t been processed, it has raw honey.
Moreover, raw honey is less likely to contain additional sweeteners. In contrast, Filtered honey’s taste is altered a bit with added sweeteners.
How To Store Honeycomb
The most important thing is to protect it from moisture which can lead to spoilage. So place it inside an airtight container. Storing honeycomb in an airtight container or jar will also protect it from ants and other insects.
Make sure to keep it at room temperature for the best flavor.
Your kitchen counter is the perfect storage place.
Can You Freeze Honeycomb?
Yes, you can. If you don’t plan on using your honeycomb for a long time, you can freeze it. Just place the honeycomb into an airtight container or ziplock bags.
Honeycomb is safe in the freezer for up to 12 months.
It is easy to defrost. Just remove from the freezer and then defrost at room temperature.
Why Is Honeycomb So Expensive?
Here are the main reasons why Honeycomb is so expensive –
- Honeycomb production is a one-time use of the wax comb, whereas extracted honey producers can use the same comb multiple times.
- A lot of “waste” is produced with honeycomb. Though this waste (imperfect combs, damaged combs, etc.) is used for other things, it reduces the total yield.
- Honeycomb equipment is costly whether the beekeeper uses basswood boxes or plastic boxes.
- Storing and marketing are more costly since the product is fragile, unlike honey in a jar.
In The End
I hope this helped you understand the taste of honeycomb.
Do share this with your friends and family and help them know about it too!