By Connie Leinbach
Ocracoke honey captured second place in the light-colored category in the recent Outer Banks BeeKeepers’ Guild honey tasting contest.
Denise Deacon, past president of the Guild, said 15 varieties of honey harvests from Ocracoke to Currituck competed in either light or dark categories.
Darlene Styron, who tends four hives along with Mary Dean, competed in the light category and tied for second place with Deacon for the Judges’ Choice, but won second place in the People’s Choice categories.
This was the first year since Hurricane Dorian wiped out their hives in September 2019 that Styron and Dean entered the contest.
“We didn’t have any bees until 2022,” Styron said.
While her hives can yield honey harvests in spring and summer, the honey she submitted was from the summer.
“We didn’t really have a spring (harvest),” she said.
Deacon agreed.
“The spring weather this year wasn’t too conducive to honey making,” she said, noting that inclement weather can affect the bees’ ability to forage blooming shrubs.
“Holly is usually a big producer of nectar for bees, but this year wasn’t the best,” she said.
In another area, Deacon said Ocracoke honey was second in the state for healthful phenolic compounds and hers, from Kitty Hawk, was third.
She cited a study done last year by UNC-Asheville biology student Aaron Jackson, who studied which part of North Carolina honey has the highest Total Phenolic Content (TPC), which are healthful properties.
“As advancements in the fields of chemistry and medicine have progressed, extensive research has been conducted on the negative effects of free oxygen radicals on humans,” Jackson says in his paper. “Through this research, honey has been linked to the prevention of oxidative stress.
“Honey is known to contain a wide array of phenolic compounds, which are correlated with antioxidant activities.
“These are present in greater, or less abundance in honey depending on the floral source from which the honeybees (Apis mellifera) extract pollen.”
The Outer Banks ranked second overall in Jackson’s study, Deacon said. The number one honey came from Newton, she said, and the honeys with the second and fourth highest concentrations of phenols are from Ocracoke.
Styron said she and Dean hope to get enough honey this year to resume selling it in Styron’s shop, The Sweet Tooth.
And Deacon may be down to get some.
“I collect honeys and Ocracoke is the best, as far as I’m concerned,” she said. “There’s something down there…”
Great Article! Congrats to the winners. I can’t wait to try it on my next visit if there is any left. I have been visiting and also camping out in the Summers since the early sixties. I don’t get a chance to visit as often as I like but try to make the best of it when I do.
On a different subject I noticed the last name of the honey maker as Styron. That is a well known name on Ocracoke. Maybe a native Ocracokian? I am curious on how many old generations of families still live on Ocracoke. Thanks for the article and happy Holidays to you all.
Sorry. That’s Darlene Styron, who with Mary tends the honey bees. Story is corrected.
Is Ocracoke honey available for purchase online?
Not yet. They haven’t gotten any yet. Sweet Tooth opens around Easter.
Connie: I would agree with Denise Deacon that “there’s something down there.” My children can tell you that the one place on the Outer Banks where I really feel that “something” is on Ocracoke. My oldest daughter remarked to me on our last visit that she had never seen me so relaxed, even while staying in Avon on the “Big Island.” I responded, “Honey, I’m on island time.” But, I am just a visitor. Those bees and their honey are always “on island time.” That may well be that “something,” whether I can explain it or not.
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