Achi news desk-
Fortunately for us Scots, the country’s natural landscape and climate create the perfect conditions for harvesting some of the best available in the world.
More than this, heather honey in particular has been called a “superfood” thanks to high levels of the essential micronutrient, manganese.
From innovative start-ups that have caught the eye of British TV icons to decades-old apiary experts, here are 10 honey producers making waves in Scotland if you’re looking to upgrade an essential storage cupboard.
Struan Apiaries
Conon Bridge
Over the past 50 years, this family operation in the Scottish Highlands has gone from caring for one hive to hundreds.
Check out their signature blend jars of floral honey and malt whiskey to discover what they describe as ‘a combination made in heaven’.
www.struanapiaries.co.uk
The Scottish Bee Company
Edinburgh
Established in 2017, The Scottish Bee Company promotes the principles of ‘slow food and regenerative farming practices’.
As reported by the Herald, Nigella Lawson recently named her Heather Honey as her favourite, likening the taste to “eating the landscape”.
READ MORE: Scottish honey maker ‘beyond excited’ after Nigella’s name check
With summer salad season and barbecue season fast approaching, their range of infused dressings or hot honey drizzles are sure to add a tangy, subtle sweetness to your meals.
www.scottishbeecompany.co.uk
Edinburgh Honey Co.
Easter Road, Edinburgh
All the honey from this Edinburgh company is 100% raw and natural and harvested by a team boasting over 60 years of expertise.
Add some wow factor to charcuterie tables by ordering a thick chunk of heather honeycomb to nestle amongst cheeses and fruit, giving them a “tangy, spiky and smoky” flavour.
www.edinburghoney.co.uk
Anderson Scottish Honey
Aberdeenshire
This team believes that “good honey is like good wine” and should differ in taste, appearance and texture depending on where and when it is harvested.
And in terms of their yield, the flowering plants and trees across North East Scotland create a particularly complex range of honey from bees that are “well provided for”.
Honey Ian
Strathardle and Glenshee
Ian’s Honey comes from the wild, open moors of Scotland where nectar is collected from bees foraging on delicate purple heather flowers.
To try the “Rolls Royce of honey” for yourself, visit their website where you can order three small packages for delivery anywhere in the UK.
ianshoney.co.uk
Heather Hills Farm
Blairgowrie
Heather Hills Farm currently maintains 1300 hives across Perthshire and Deeside which have been carefully placed to ensure their bees enjoy the freedom to roam.
What sets their product apart from the sprawling bottles you’ll find on supermarket shelves?
They say: “In an age of mass production and bulk processing, our honey is collected and extracted using traditional methods to ensure that the enzymes, protein and natural goodness stay within and do not get destroyed during the harvesting, separation or bottling processes.”
www.heatherhills.co.uk
Hood’s Honey
Based in the hills of East Lothian for six decades, Hood’s Honey has looked after 13 million amazing bees “the old fashioned way” with three distinctive types of Honey Flower, Wild Flower and Heather.
For a gift that is sustainable and thoughtful, turn to their candles crafted using beeswax which is a natural by-product of beekeeping.
Ed’s Bees
Glasgow
Ed O’Brien’s urban beehives can be seen all over Glasgow, from his back garden in the Southside to the top of the Barclay’s building.
Among them are ‘Bucky’ queens, who come from bees originally bred by a monk from the 1920s at Buckfast Abbey who are said to be “very cool, mild-mannered”.
You’ll find jars of this sweet nectar in delicatessens and cheese shops all over the city.
Glen Heather Honey
Gardenhall, East Kilbride
While searching for a cure for his hay fever in 2012, Chris of Glen Heather Honey developed “a serious taste for expensive honey”.
Soon, this hobby turned into a business with the aim of “creating the strongest, healthiest and happiest honey bees, which produce the best artisan honey in the world.”
Glen Heather now specializes in raw honey and tinctures with a savory twist from sites across Eaglesham, East Kilbride and Carmunock.
www.glenheatherhoney.co.uk
Cloverlea Apiaries
Perthshire
This “friendly bee company” is a family honey bar farm in the Ochil Hills of Perthshire.
There, they produce flowers, soft set, tincture and heather honey, all unprocessed and filtered as little as possible “as nature intended”.
The team also handcraft a fantastic range of cosmetics including serums, night creams and lip balms that smell good enough to eat whilst being kind to the skin with no sulphates, parabens or palm oil .
www.cloverleapiaries.co.uk