Professor Vaughn Bryant can tell the origin of practically any natural honey sample by its pollen content.

When bees gather nectar from clover flowers, clover pollen gets into it. If the honey contains mostly American Basswood pollen (Tilia americana), it indicates that the bees made the honey from Basswood nectar. So if the seller claims the honey came from America but the pollen content shows pollen from plants than only grow in China, you have a problem. On the other hand, if a beekeeper can verify that his honey is pure Black Locust, or pure Sourwood, he can guarantee certain qualities and flavors to his customers, and he can often sell his premium product at a premium price.

So if you want to know the pollen content of you honey, you just have to look at it under a microscope and identify the pollen grains right? Not exactly! For one thing, some plants get more pollen into their nectar than other plants, making it tricky to figure out exactly what percentage of the honey came from what plant. And not only that, but the process of preparing the honey sample so that the pollen can be clearly seen under the microscope is not a simple matter!

Watch as Vaughn Bryant at Texas A & M University demonstrates preparing a honey sample for analysis! You’ll come to understand why the $60 price per sample is a good deal!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T01vQ-adYJU[/youtube]