SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
OK, I'm looking at two jars in front of me right now. Both of them are filled with honey. They're from a local beekeeper here in Washington, D.C., Hidden Cities Apiaries. What's inside the jars is different, and one is actually pretty interesting or really maybe it's gross. It just depends on your point of view.
This jar of honey isn't made entirely with nectar. It is made with the poop of the spotted lanternfly. This is the invasive insect that has swarmed parts of the country in recent years, including Washington, D.C. You could not walk down a block in NPR's neighborhood without walking over hundreds of them this summer, and this honey is now one of the consequences of that visit.
So this leads, at least to me, to a lot of questions, including - let's be honest - what does this poop honey taste like? With me now is a panel of honey experts. Dr. Robyn Underwood teaches apiculture at Penn State Extension in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She is here to tell us all about the insect science between the spotted lanternfly honey. Welcome to the show.
ROBYN UNDERWOOD: Hi, thanks for having me.
DETROW: And here to talk about the honey itself and the culinary science is Marina Marchese, a honey sommelier and founder of the American Honey Tasting Society. Welcome.
MARINA MARCHESE: Thank you for having me.
DETROW: So, Robyn, let's start with this. Did I get that right in my introduction? Bees are attracted to lanternfly waste the same way they're attracted to pollen and nectar.
UNDERWOOD: That's correct. We call their poop honeydew.
DETROW: That's polite.
(LAUGHTER)
DETROW: When did you first discover that the spotted lanternfly was changing American honey?
UNDERWOOD: It was around 2019, when the lanternflies had been established here around Berks County, Pennsylvania, for almost five years. That's when the beekeepers started to notice their hives filling up with this unique new honey.
DETROW: OK. So, Marina, that brings you into this conversation. When did you first hear about a different kind of honey? And first, I want to ask what your first reaction was when you heard where it was coming from.
MARCHESE: Well, I've been familiar with honeydew because, as a professional taster and consultant, I've had honeydew from Europe. It's very commonly produced...
DETROW: OK.
MARCHESE: ...By other kinds of aphids in Europe.
DETROW: Oh, OK. I'm going to try this. And I should say, I've got two bottles in front of me, and I should say, you have the exact same two samples. We mailed both of them to you.
(SOUNDBITE OF GLASS CLINKING)
DETROW: Tell me what we're going to do next.
MARCHESE: So we could start with the lighter honey sample that was sent to us, and this one is the control sample.
DETROW: OK.
MARCHESE: I believe this is the typical honey that is produced by this beekeeper.
DETROW: Yeah.
MARCHESE: And what we usually do is taste it with a spoon. But before we taste, we actually smear and smell the honey, so meaning take a plastic spoon and smear it around the container...
DETROW: OK. I'm doing that.
MARCHESE: ...And stick your nose into it.
DETROW: Stick my nose into it. So...
MARCHESE: So the first thing you'll notice, it's a little bit on the strong side. You may get this little menthol kind of a spearmint note.
DETROW: Marina, can I pause you because I stuck my nose in too far, and now there's honey all over my nose. One moment.
MARCHESE: (Laughter) That's exactly what happens.
DETROW: So I fixed that. OK, now I'm smelling again. Yeah. OK, I got that.
MARCHESE: So you might find these notes of spearmint, a little bit of a balsamic pine needle note. And then the next step is really just take a nice, generous spoon and put it in your mouth, let it melt on your tongue.
DETROW: OK.
MARCHESE: And then inhale.
DETROW: Here. Here we go. I've got the honey dripping down. I'm trying not to spill it on our recording equipment. On my tongue.
MARCHESE: Pretty good.
DETROW: Yeah.
MARCHESE: So this is the typical honey that the beekeeper produce. Now, on the other hand, the second sample...
DETROW: Yeah.
MARCHESE: ...You'll first notice that the color's a little bit darker.
DETROW: Right. And first, before we move to the next one, should I, like, take a sip of water, or, like, how should I reset my palate here? Or just keep going?
MARCHESE: Water should be good. No ice, no lemon.
DETROW: No, ice, no lemon. OK, just took a sip of plain water. Now I'm opening the second kind of honey with - OK, it is darker. It's definitely darker. Right.
MARCHESE: Yeah, and with a clean spoon 'cause no double dipping.
DETROW: No double dipping. I've got my second spoon right here.
MARCHESE: And then do the same. You can smear and smell.
DETROW: Smearing - oh, that does smell slightly different, yeah.
MARCHESE: Yeah, it's a little bit different, a little bit stronger. I get really, like, this concord grape note.
DETROW: Yeah.
MARCHESE: And when you're ready, take a spoon, put it in your mouth.
DETROW: Here we go. Breathing in.
MARCHESE: Breathing in - this honey's much more savory.
DETROW: Yeah.
MARCHESE: Do you notice it's a little sour?
DETROW: Mm-hmm.
MARCHESE: All honey's not sweet, so this one has a little sour. Some dry dates - like, warmer notes than the first sample.
DETROW: I do taste a date, like, kind of taste, yeah.
MARCHESE: And the last thing, in your mouth, you'll notice that your tongue gets really dry. There's an astringency to this honey.
DETROW: OK. I think I wouldn't have thought about that.
MARCHESE: Like, a little puckery.
DETROW: But now that you mentioned it, yeah. Yeah. Robyn, I feel like I should have apologized that you just had to listen to me eating honey for, like, several minutes, and we didn't send you one, as well. I feel like we need to make up for that. But what was your reaction, and what was your response the first time you tasted this different kind of honey?
UNDERWOOD: I really don't like it. I'm glad you didn't send me a sample.
DETROW: (Laughter) OK.
UNDERWOOD: (Laughter).
DETROW: Why don't you like it?
UNDERWOOD: It just - when it hits the middle of my tongue, I just don't want it to go any further, and I find that there's an aftertaste that just lingers for a long time and makes me want to eat something else to get rid of it.
DETROW: Got it. Do either of you think that this is a problem long term? - because we've talked about spotted lanternflies as an invasive species. You know, so many people around the country - the message is, if you see it, squash it. And now we're hearing that it's changing honey. Like, is this endangering the honey as we know it, or is this just a new variety? Marina, what do you think? What does this add? Do you view this as a welcome addition or a concern?
MARCHESE: I think it's a new variety of honey. I believe that it's here to stay. And with a little bit of education, I think beekeepers will start to embrace it. And honestly, I think it's going to be a little bit of a fad. I think that once people start learning about this, sort of curiosity, it may sort of take off like hot honey did.
DETROW: Robyn, what do you think?
UNDERWOOD: I think it's a new variety. I find that lots of people really, really like it. I'm also doing some research that's showing that it may prove to be a nice medicinal honey. And I feel like, you know, Americans just need to get used to the idea of honeydew honey. Like Marina said, it's common in other countries. We're just a little bit behind in learning.
DETROW: Yeah, I could see - you know, I just got over a cold. I could see kind of, like, a big gollop of this honeydew honey in a tea in a wintery situation, if you've got a cold or something like that.
UNDERWOOD: Or straight down your throat.
DETROW: Or straight down your throat - OK. I don't know what I'm talking about.
(LAUGHTER)
DETROW: That is Robyn Underwood, who teaches apiculture at Penn State Extension, as well as honey sommelier Marina Marchese. Thank you so much.
UNDERWOOD: Thank you.
MARCHESE: Thank you for having me.
(SOUNDBITE OF RONNIE FOSTER'S "MYSTIC BREW") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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