Radocsai Apiary
Four kinds of honey, four very different characters: from mild acacia through creamy sunflower to woodsy honeydew. The same 28 bee colonies, different flowers.
In its whole life a bee gathers about one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey. Behind every jar are the whole lives of thousands of bees and millions of flower visits.
Same colony, different flowers, a very different honey.
Almost water-clear, mild and gently floral. It stays liquid for a long time, so it is a favourite of tea drinkers and people new to honey.
Flavour intensity
Speed of crystallisation
Good with: tea, pancakes, sweetening
From rapeseed and fruit tree nectar: light, mild and fragrant. It crystallises into a fine, almost white cream.
Flavour intensity
Speed of crystallisation
Good with: bread, yoghurt, breakfast
Golden yellow, slightly fruity and floral. It quickly crystallises to a cream, so it does not drip: the best friend of buttered bread.
Flavour intensity
Speed of crystallisation
Good with: buttered bread, porridge, baking
Darker, full-bodied and slightly spicy. As well as flower nectar it contains forest honeydew, which gives it a deep, woodsy flavour.
Flavour intensity
Speed of crystallisation
Good with: cheeseboards, marinades, salad dressings
We are a family farm first
We produce honey mainly for ourselves and sell only the surplus, so some products can sell out quickly. We restock what we can: if something is out of stock, check back later or write to us.
Do not give honey to children under one year old!
Honey is the most common source of infant botulism: its spores can produce toxin in a baby's immature gut. So do not give honey in any form to a baby under one, even baked or cooked into food or just on a dummy. Source: recommendation of the Hungarian National Food Chain Safety Office (Nébih), Veszélyzóna (in Hungarian).
The question we get most often: "My honey has crystallised, has it gone off?" No. Crystallisation is a natural process: the glucose in the honey separates out and forms tiny crystals.
When it happens depends on the kind of honey: sunflower and rapeseed spring honey turn creamy within a few weeks, while acacia can stay liquid for a year or two because it contains more fructose.
Tea, not too hot: stir in acacia honey once the tea has cooled to drinking temperature, so the aroma stays.
Cheeseboard: mature cheese, walnuts and a spoonful of honeydew honey. It is full-bodied enough to stand up to strong cheeses.
Breakfast: yoghurt or porridge with fruit and spring blossom honey, or buttered bread with creamy sunflower honey.
Cooking and baking: honey and mustard marinade, salad dressing or gingerbread. In baking, honey gives a nicer colour and a softer crumb than sugar.
This is how beekeepers taste honey, and how you can too at home.
Look at it against a white background: every shade from water-clear to amber promises something different.
Smell it over the open jar. Blossom honey is fragrant, honeydew honey woodier and deeper.
Runny, creamy or grainy? Crystallisation tells you about the kind of honey, not its quality.
Let it melt on your tongue and do not swallow straight away. This is when the sweetness and the flowers come through.
How long does it last, and what stays? This is where full-flavoured honeys show themselves.
Three generations of our family have kept bees, so when we started in 2023 we were not starting from scratch. All 28 of our colonies live in Pécel, at Radocsai Farm.
We extract and jar the honey ourselves: what you see in the jar was gathered by our own bees.
A tincture made from our own propolis.
No, this is how honey naturally behaves and it takes nothing away from it. If you prefer it liquid, stir it in a lukewarm water bath of no more than 40 °C.
Acacia honey. Its high fructose content means it can stay liquid for a year or two. Sunflower and rapeseed spring honey, on the other hand, turn creamy within a few weeks.
Tightly closed, in a cool, dry place away from sunlight, at room temperature. It does not need to go in the fridge. Always use a clean, dry spoon, because honey absorbs moisture and water can make it ferment.
You can, but it is a shame: the delicate aromas disappear in the heat. Wait until the tea has cooled to drinking temperature, then stir it in.
It does not come from flowers: it is the sweet secretion of tiny insects that feed on tree sap, which bees collect from leaves and bark. Mixed with flower nectar it gives a darker, fuller, slightly spicy honey.
Because honey is a natural product: the weather and the timing and strength of the bloom differ every year. We do not blend it to a uniform taste, so each season's honey has a character of its own.
There are a few simple signs to look out for. We have gathered them in our article on how to spot real honey.