Sleeping Bear Farms Star Thistle Honey

This week on the website, we will be looking at everything there is to do with honey. One of the great things about honey is that there are so many varieties. One of those varieties is star thistle honey. A star thistle is a flower that orginated in Europe. It was introduced to America, and has become an invasive species in many states. Normally invasive species are seen in a negative light, but something good has come out of this one - Star Thistle Honey. This type of honey is made in different parts of the country, but the specific one I am reviewing today comes from my home state of Michigan. The honey is gathered from bees that pollinate star thistle plants in the northwestern part of the Lower Peninsula, near Traverse City and Sleeping Bear Dunes. Sleeping Bear Farms has been gathering this honey since 1980. The company gets multiple uses out of their bees. They move them to Florida in the winter to collect honey from Tupelo trees.

Characteristics of this Honey
Color: light gold
Strength: mild
Taste: It has a delicious floral taste, that is not too overpowering. It's very pleasant on the tongue.
Uses: Great honey to use on any type of bread. I like to use it on peas. I heard that people like to bake with it, as it adds some character without overpowering things like cakes and cookies. It's also a great choice for adding to hot tea, if you like that sort of thing.

Where to Buy
I have found it in several stores in Michigan, including Busch's and Western Market in Ferndale. You can also buy this honey directly from Sleeping Bear Farms (check their website).

You can also purchase star thistle honey from several other online sources. California is the top producer of this variety of honey. There may be some taste difference depending on where the Star Thistle honey was gathered.