FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

specialkayme wrote: ↑Mon Oct 09, 2023 12:05 pm
Well it tastes better than it smells, so that's something.

In the fall, as you walk through the apiary, you can tell if goldenrod is in bloom because the entire apiary smells like dirty gym socks.

So you find the taste of honey derived from goldenrod to be disagreeable?

specialkayme wrote: ↑Mon Oct 09, 2023 12:05 pm In the fall, as you walk through the apiary, you can tell if goldenrod is in bloom because the entire apiary smells like dirty gym socks.

Interesting. I wonder if others would agree with you? It has been a long time since I took a good sniff of goldenrod, but I don’t recall it having a strong scent, nor one that was unpleasant. It might be one of those scents that comes across as different to different folks. I’ve come across a surprising number of floral scents that have that quality. For example, star gazer lilies. Members of my family find the scent very appealing (but too strong to have indoors), but my sister’s best friend says they smell like an outhouse. I know a lot of folks who like forcing paperwhites indoors in the spring. I tried that once and will never do so again. To my nose they had a harsh, strong chemical odor that filled the entire room. I have noticed with at least some Hoya, that the scent changes with the time of day. Midday, the scent would be sweet, but in the evening it would have an unpleasant chemical odor. This would repeat day after day so it wasn’t due to the age of the blooms. Probably the most bizarre situation I encountered was an orchid I used to own a couple eons ago. To my sis and me, the blooms smelled like ripe melon. To one coworker it smelled like rotting fish. To a another, yet something else. Had one coworker comment that, to her, the scent was elusive…not at all unpleasant but one she just couldn’t put her finger on. I’ve also noticed that whether a plant is blooming indoors or outside can make a difference. I can’t have hyacinths indoors. The scent is too pungent and unpleasant. However, outdoors is a different matter entirely. Perhaps, indoors, whatever floral volatiles one finds unpleasant are more concentrated and therefore more noticeable or are able to interact more effectively with other compounds to produce the scent one finds disagreeable?

DragonsEye wrote: ↑Sat Oct 14, 2023 2:28 pm
So you find the taste of honey derived from goldenrod to be disagreeable?

No. There isn't any honey that I find disagreeable though. It's just different. Buckwheat is very rich and dark. Some love it, some hate it. Sourwood gives almost a sourish twang to the honey. Some love it, some hate it. Some honey is perceivably sweeter than others (fructose vs. glucose vs. sucrose in finished honey). It's all honey though. In one market, one is a premium product. In another market, the other is.

Goldenrod honey is generally considered a "sub premium" product though. The flavor usually doesn't line up with what most would consider a preference, and it granulates very quickly. And not in a smooth consistency, but chunky. For the bees, it often contains a high ash and mineral content, which isn't the best type of honey to overwinter on. Which is why most beekeepers attempt to supplement fall feeding.

DragonsEye wrote: ↑Sat Oct 14, 2023 2:28 pmInteresting. I wonder if others would agree with you?

There is a saying in beekeeping: ask 4 beekeepers a question and you'll get 5 answers.

So I'm assuming not everyone would agree. There are varying levels of what people consider pleasant or unpleasant, some saying goldenrod smells like rotting bodies, others saying it smells like body odor. I don't mind the smell, but it does remind me of dirty gym socks.

But then again, most vocal beekeepers aren't that experienced. As someone with over 20 years of experience, and as a Certified Master Beekeeper from EAS (one of the most challenging Master Beekeeper Programs in existence), I feel fairly confident in saying I'm correct. I'll often get new beekeepers that tell me they think they have a bacterial disease in their apiaries (American Foulbrood) due to the smell. I show up, smells like dirty gym socks, and say "nope, that's just goldenrod." Those that don't believe me call the state inspector, who confirms it.

DragonsEye wrote: ↑Sat Oct 14, 2023 2:28 pmIt has been a long time since I took a good sniff of goldenrod, but I don’t recall it having a strong scent, nor one that was unpleasant.

You're confusing the smell of flowers with the smell of ripening honey. Flowers have certain aromatic compounds that don't transfer over to ripening honey. And nectar has a moisture content of typically 60-95%, and the bees reduce that down to about 16%. In the process, they evaporate off many things, and make it a much more concentrated scent.

Orange blossom flowers have a distinct, sweet smell. Orange blossom nectar doesn't smell quite the same. Orange blossom honey doesn't smell like the flowers at all.

It isn't the honey that "stinks". The honey is usually a full-flavor, kinda bold tasting honey...very good, IMHO. It is definitely unlike early summer privet hedge honey which is a much lighter/whiter honey...which, to me, is delicious. That white honey is the *only* redeeming aspect of privet hedge.

As for the "old gym socks" smell. That comes from the hives, themselves, produced during the honey making process of the bees. All the nectar is brought into the hives and put into comb cells. But, it is heavy in water content. The bees then have to evaporate the water content down so that the honey will not ferment in the cells. There will be hundreds/thousands of bees sitting still fanning their wings to create airflow in the hive...even some at the front door.
(They also do this to cool the hive off in hot weather and in cold weather will literally dislocate their wings but exert the muscles to create heat to warm the cluster that is crowded together for warmth...as the heater bees tire they rotate inward to rest and other bees rotate outward to "heat"...bees are incredible in they know how to do many jobs without being told to do them! Anyhow, the evaporating water carries the gym socks smell off with it.

One honey that I really like is cappings honey. When a frame of honeycomb is processed (whether by hand or machine) the covering/seal of each cell is removed, either with a hot wire or a rotating rasp(?). Naturally the wax removed (the caps) falls away as does some honey that adheres to it. After slinging several supers of honeycomb the cappings and associated honey can produce good bit of honey, itself. This honey is usually even stronger tasting than goldenrod honey...it is the last nectar/honey put into the hives before a wax cap is put on. Mighty tasty!!! Btw, wild aster also blooms during the time that goldenrod and ragweed blooms. They're dainty, small flowers growing on small, low-growing bushes...they tend to cause distress to hayfever sufferers, also. But, adding the golden rod (great health benefits) with ragweed and wild aster the health benefits of honey increase. It is usually recommended to eat honey that comes from as close to where you live as possible...that means the bees have been foraging plants that are around you and that might be causing your allergies to flare up. How honey ends up as healthy as it is amazing...and beyond me, but I will attest to its mighty good taste!!!

And...there I went ramblin' again and probably not exactly right, but...

You guys have winter? Mine “disappeared”.

This year we have a “more normal” fall. The temps last year were 80 through October until plummeting at the end of the month. This year the cooling has been more gradual. Highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s. All my outdoor plants are entering dormancy and my indoor intermedia too. Can’t wait for my pygmies to produce gemmae.

That looks like dessert weather! You have both ends of the spectrum.

What's that white stuff?

Fungi; it’s very airborne around this time of year.

I’d have to move and that’s all there is about it!

Camden wrote: ↑Wed Oct 25, 2023 4:46 pm That looks like dessert weather! You have both ends of the spectrum.

Really? What kind? Ice cream? Brownies? Cookies?….