The awards for the excellent Hungarian honey competition of the year were presented.

The excellent Hungarian honey of the year in 2024 was the acacia honey of László Gujka from Szolnok, which also won the main prize in the best acacia honey category.

The best mixed flower honey was produced by Bodnár Méhészet from Váckisújfalu; the best sunflower honey was produced by Borhi Brigitta from Örményes. In the varietal honey category, the linden honey of Róbert Hanzel from Kaposmérő triumphed for the third time this year; in the other varietal honey category, the rapeseed honey of Zoltán Tódora from Salgótarján won the first place prize.

The first place in the honey product category was taken by the peppermint acacia honey of Gábor Hegedűs from Kecskemét – János Árgyelán, competition director, Békés county consultant of the National Hungarian Beekeeping Association (OMME), and one of the main organizers of the event, informed MTI.

A record number of 489 samples were submitted by beekeepers from all over the country to the call this year. The largest number of samples, 118, came from acacia, while about a hundred were sent in from mixed honey.

The proportion of honey products has also increased compared to previous years, and it seems that there is a demand for these products on the market – the competition director noted. Little honey was received from rape and sunflower this year.

In the first round of judging, the experts looked at evaluation criteria such as purity, water content, characteristic color, the honey’s aroma according to the variety, the purity of its taste, the packaging, as well as harmony and overall impression. This was followed by a laboratory test, where the water, pollen, glucose, fructose and the so-called HMF content were analyzed. The latter indicates whether the honey was heat-treated. Then, the second round of judging formed the final ranking.