Basswood Honey (Linden Honey): Minty, Fresh and a Northeast Classic

The basswood tree

American basswood is a tall native tree with large, heart-shaped leaves, found in forests from Maine and New York west to Minnesota and south through the Appalachians. In early summer it produces clusters of small, pale yellow, intensely fragrant flowers. On a warm evening a single tree in bloom can hum with bees, and its scent carries across a yard.

Its European relatives, the lindens or lime trees (unrelated to the citrus fruit), are planted along streets and in parks across Europe, and linden honey is a major variety in countries such as Hungary, Poland, Romania and Ukraine.

What basswood honey tastes like

Basswood honey is water-white to pale yellow, sometimes with a slight greenish tint. Its aroma is strong for such a light honey: fresh, slightly woody and often described as minty or menthol-like. The taste is sweet with a cool, green, almost medicinal finish that some people love and others find unusual. Compared with clover, it is less mellow and more aromatic.

It crystallizes at a moderate rate, often into a fine, pale paste.

Basswood honey in New York

In New York and other northeastern states, basswood is one of the important summer nectar sources, blooming around the same time as late white clover. A strong basswood flow can fill supers quickly in a good year, but the bloom is short and the weather has to cooperate. Because it overlaps with clover and other summer flowers, much of it ends up in summer wildflower honey rather than sold as a separate variety. See when is honey harvested and our New York honey guide.

How to use basswood honey

Its fresh, aromatic character suits tea, especially herbal and green tea, as well as lemonade, fruit salad and light desserts. Linden blossom tea, made from the dried flowers, is a traditional drink in much of Europe, and a spoon of linden honey in it is a natural match. Basswood honey is also good with mild fresh cheeses and in vinaigrettes, where its herbal edge stands out.

Al Safa honeys for basswood fans

We do not sell basswood honey as a separate variety. For a light, fresh summer honey, try our Clover honey, harvested in New York State, or our Wildflower honey, whose summer harvests can include basswood among the many meadow and woodland blooms. Both are never heated above hive temperature.

Basswood honey and wildflower blends

Because basswood blooms in a short window that overlaps with clover, sumac and other summer flowers, a pure basswood honey depends on the beekeeper harvesting right after the flow. Many beekeepers in the Northeast simply let it blend into their summer crop, which is why a New York summer wildflower honey can carry a faint fresh, minty lift in a good basswood year. If you want to taste basswood on its own, look for a small producer who labels it by name and can tell you which week it came off the hives.

Basswood trees are also valued by people who plant for bees: a single mature tree produces an enormous number of flowers, and some beekeepers call it the bee tree. See plants for honey bees for more summer bloomers.