Find out the winner of the Best Hungarian Honey of the Year award

Hungary is known worldwide for its superior quality of honey. The history of honey cultivation dates back many years in the country and it is a fruitful business for many producers. In this post, we reveal the proud winner of the Outstanding Hungarian Honey of the Year title. 

According to 24.hu, as part of the XIII. Gyula Honey and Gingerbread Festival, the winner of the Outstanding Hungarian Honey of the Year title was announced on Saturday. 

Categories and results

This year’s competition saw a record number of submissions. Ernő Görgényi, the mayor of Gyula, reported on his Facebook page that 166 beekeepers entered the competition with 48 different types of honey. 

Read alsoFind out the winner of the Best Hungarian Honey of the Year award

Honey producers were evaluated based on seven criteria. At the end of the contest, the jury announced the winner of the Honey of the Year title, and two special awards were also handed out.

Without further ado, the winner of the Outstanding Hungarian Honey of the Year was Richárd Dian from Csővár. The winning honey was acacia honey. In addition, another producer Hegedűs Gábor finished first in a separate class of acacia honey. 

In the rapeseed honey category, Balázs Sándor Gál produced the best honey, while Gergő Dian won first place in the mixed honey category. 

Róbert Hanzel was the runner-up in the variety honey category with a type of linden honey. The winner of the ‘other variety of honey’ category was Zoltán Tojzán, who entered the contest with his phacelia honey. 

In the sunflower honey category, István Jó came in first place, who works as a beekeeper in Nagytarcsa. György Alb’s hazelnut-chocolate honey won the award for the most special honey.

Two beekeepers also received special awards. The first Gyula Television special award was given to Zsolt Koczka for his outstanding cinnamon rapeseed honey while Bodnár Beekeeping was also handed a special trophy for the unique aesthetic appearance of their products. 

Next year, the winners can update their packaging by featuring a sticker of their accomplishments on their products. 

Read alsoThe world-famous Hungarian honey

The decision of the jury

The 448 received samples were evaluated in the first round by a jury of 21 professionals, due to the record number of submissions. The evaluation criteria included checking cleanliness, aroma, water content, color, packaging, taste and an overall first impression.

This was followed by the second round of evaluation. In the second round, Eurofins Food Analytica Ltd. analysed the quality of each honey. Water content, fructose-glucose ratio, and pollen composition were all important aspects. 

National Hungarian Beekeeping Association

According to the National Hungarian Beekeeping Association’s president, the Gyula competition provides a massive opportunity for Hungarian beekeepers. Although beekeeping is extremely popular in Hungary and Hungarian honey enjoys an international reputation, there are still no other competitions that would allow the country’s beekeepers to stand out and gain recognition. 

Source: 24.hu