Linden (lime) honey

Several lime species, mainly Tilia platyphyllos and Tilia cordata, grow wild in many European countries.

Unifloral linden honey is produced mainly in Central and Eastern Europe.

Lime pollen is under-represented in the honey, sometimes extremely, partly because some cultivated lime varieties are sterile.

Colour is light to medium with a bright yellow tone, averaging 33.3 ± 13.1 mm Pfund.

In sensory analysis the odour is strong, described as woody, chemical and fresh.

Sensory panels rate sweetness medium, acidity weak, bitterness absent to medium, and the aftertaste long.

For most chemical and physical measurements, linden honey sits close to the average of European unifloral honeys.

Its electrical conductivity is quite high for a honey made from nectar.

Some linden honeys have glucose plus fructose values below 60 g/100 g, which the sheets say can be explained by honeydew; lime trees can also provide honeydew after attack by certain insects.

Linden honey crystallises at a moderate rate.

Lime honey is on the Codex list of exceptions to the electrical conductivity rule for blossom honeys.

EU law likewise names lime (Tilia spp.) among the honeys exempt from the general conductivity limit.