Avocado honey

Avocado honey is a monofloral honey from the nectar of the avocado tree (Persea americana). In Europe it is mainly a Spanish variety: the protected names Miel de Málaga, Miel de Granada and Miel de Tenerife each have an avocado type.

It is a dark honey. Twelve Spanish samples had on average 17.7 % water, a pH of about 4.77, 0.77 % ash and an electrical conductivity of about 798 µS/cm, values typical of dark honeys; potassium made up about 73 % of the minerals. In Málaga, a jar sold as avocado honey must owe a fifth or more of its pollen to the avocado tree, and the rules add that this honey stays liquid, just as chestnut honey does.

Avocado flowers leave little pollen in the honey, so pollen analysis alone is not enough. A study in Israel found a sugar, perseitol, that occurs only in avocado honey and can serve as a marker of its purity; the darker the honey and the higher its pH, the more perseitol it held.

Why this matters to you: avocado honey is dark and stays liquid; the protected names of Málaga, Granada or Tenerife guarantee its origin.