Why Tupelo Honey Is the Most Coveted—and Expensive—Honey in America

Tupelo honey may be the only variety of honey to have an album and a romantic song named after it, not to mention a city in Mississippi. That album, by Van Morrison, released in 1971, put the relatively obscure honey on the map, and like the song, it became a big hit. But separated from the music and the award-winning 1997 film Ulee’s Gold, which further added to its mystique, what is tupelo honey, and why is it so sought after? We spoke to honey experts to find out why this honey from the swamps has so much buzz and if it's worth the hefty price tag.

What Is Tupelo Honey? 

Tupelo honey is highly sought after and prized for its wonderful, rich, and mildly fruity flavor, explains Amina Harris, the founding director of Honey and Pollination Center at UC Davis and an owner of The HIVE/Z Specialty Food. It comes from the nectar collected by bees from the Ogeechee tupelo or Nyssa ogeche trees, which grow in swamps in the coastal plain, mostly from Northwest Florida and Georgia. Ted Dennard, founder of Savannah Bee Company, one of the largest purveyors of tupelo honey says that while these trees can grow from North Carolina to Texas, "I've never in my life seen any honey made above the Altamaha River (in Georgia) or anywhere west of the Apalachicola River in Florida, of any note."

Another factor that sets tupelo honey apart is its non-granulating characteristic. Honey is composed of approximately 80 percent sugars (glucose and fructose) and 17 percent water and other enzymes, minerals, and sugars,” explains C.Marina Marchese, a honey sommelier and author of several books on honey, including The World Atlas of Honey. When the ratio of glucose is higher than fructose, the honey will quickly granulate or crystallize. This happens because glucose is less soluble in water than fructose, and when the glucose separates from the water, it causes glucose sugar crystals to form around minute particles in the honey. She says that in tupelo honey, the ratio of fructose is higher than glucose. Even more specifically, Harris explains that most honey is about 38 percent fructose, but that tupelo is 43-44 percent, the glucose is 31 percent, and water about 17-18 percent, so for this reason, tupelo honey is slow to crystallize and stays liquid longer."

Why It's So Prized

The main reason Tupelo honey is considerably more expensive than other honey is that it is rare. Tupelo trees grow in swamps and only flower for a short period of time, generally 2 to 3 weeks, so it’s a particularly difficult honey to collect. Bees have to make 2 million visits to flowers to make a pound of honey, and Dennard says that once it rains, the tupelo tree flowers won’t produce any nectar.

The swamps are incredibly muddy, he says, “It's hard to get your bees all the way as close as you want to get them, so that's why some people put them on a barge and just go up or down river.” Other beekeepers place hives on platforms in the trees. Learning how to collect the honey is passed down from one generation to the next. Dennard is passionate about the role that bees play in the pollination of the endangered cypress swamp ecosystems, and a region that dates back 50 million years, with some trees being over 600 years old. 

Not only is it not easy to harvest tupelo, but some years little or no honey is produced, says Harris. She also notes another reason for its special status: "There are a few honeys that have unusual colors if you look at them into the light—tupelo has a hint of neon green."

Additionally, Tupelo honey is renowned for its rich antioxidant properties—Dennard has used it on wounds with remarkable success, he says. Then there is its unique fructose-to-glucose ratio that prevents crystallization. Ultimately, though, it’s the delicate, swoon-worthy flavor of the honey that connoisseurs find most captivating and worth the comparatively higher price. 

The Flavor of Tupelo Honey

The flavor of tupelo honey is truly what makes it so worthwhile. "All honey is unique, but this one really stands apart,” says Dennard. He describes it as soft and sweet, with “a buttery kind of bubble gummy taste that over time morphs into kind of a pumpkin taste that is very different from any other honey out there." He notes that the flavor carries through and is not overpowering; it's subtle, not perfumey. Other descriptors include vanilla, citrus, and notes of spice. After trying it in his store, some customers will settle for nothing else, says Dennard.

How to Enjoy Tupelo Honey

Whether spread on toast or savored by the spoonful, as with other types of honey, how you enjoy it is a matter of personal preference. Dennard's favorite way to use it is in tea with milk. He also recommends using it with yogurt or goat cheese and on salmon.