Miele Millefiori (Wildflower Honey), Monterosso al Mare, Cinque Terre, Italy

My friend Barbara recently came back from a trip to Italy and she brought back this honey for me. During her time there she visited the province of La Spezia in the Liguria region of Northern Italy. In this region you'll find a rugged section of the Italian Riviera and a cluster of five villages- Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore- that are known collectively as Cinque Terre, "The Five Lands." The coastline, the villages and surrounding land are part of the Cinque Terre National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site created in 1999.

The Village of Riomaggiore

It isn't hard to see why this area was designated as a World Heritage Site. Over the course of generations inhabitants have built into the rugged, steep landscape creating a magical place. Adding to the charm is the fact that you can not easily reach Cinque Terre by car (Monterosso al Mare is connected to the E80 via a narrow, steep and winding road that has been described as "absolutely not practical"); the area is more accessible by sea or train (built in 1870). There are also mule paths that connect the five villages, and link them to the Via Roma, the main road that connected all of Italy to Rome. Many of the original mule paths are now within the national park system and continue today as hiking trails that offer spectacular views of the sea and the region. You'll notice that houses in these villages are painted a variety of colors. The story goes that when the men went out to fish they wanted to be able to identify their own homes easily, so they each painted their homes in a different, bright color.   

Italy, Cinque Terre is found on the coast in the North

Cinque Terre has been mentioned in historical documents from as early as the 11th century. The villages grew under the rule of the Republic of Genoa and defensive structures and fortifications were built in the 16th century as a defense against the Turks. The completion of the railroad in 1870 made the area less isolated and efforts in the 1970s to promote the area to tourists made it a major tourist attraction.

The terraced lands around Cinque Terre produce wine (Cinque Terre and Sciachetra) and olives, and the area is known for its Genoese pesto sauce, focaccia bread, lemons, seafood (Monterosso is particularly known for its anchovies), grappa and limoncello- the last two being a type of brandy and a sweet liqueur flavored with lemons, respectively. Of note, Corniglia, one of the five villages, is also known for a gelato flavor made with local honey called (rather descriptively) as "miel de Corniglia."

The Village of Monterorosso la Mare

My honey, however, is from the village of Monterosso al Mare, the western most of the five villages. It is easy to distinguish Monterosso from the rest of the villages because it is the only one with a sandy beach and has the bell tower of a San Francesco church as a prominent feature.

There are many micro-climates in the area and as a consequence there is an abundance of floral diversity: oak, Aleppo pine, chestnut, sea fennel, rue, heather, rosemary, lavender, myrtle, red juniper, madder, honeysuckle and sarsaparilla, to name a few honey sources. As you can imagine this lush landscape produces a variety of honeys, notable among them are: heather, acacia, chestnut and wildflower.

Wildflower Honey, Monterosso al Mare, Italy

My honey is harvested by Cantina Sassarini and from what I can gather, which isn't much since I don't speak or read Italian, is that the Sassarini family also produces pesto, wine and olive oil. Giancarlo Sassarini is the apiarist of the family and produced my honey. However, the jar suggests that the honey is distributed by Brezzo S.r.l., a large player in the Italian honey market. I found a website for the Brezzo family business and they package and distribute a variety of honey from Italy and France.

My wildflower honey is opaque and has a dull golden, tan color. It has already completely crystallized, but not in big chunks, more with a uniform consistency that you see in whipped honey. It has the heady smell of summer flowers that reminds me of dandelions on a hot summer day. It twirls easily on my toothpick, a little in sheets. The crystallized consistency gives it a bit of texture, but this melts quickly. It isn't overly sweet and has distinct floral overtones with a subtle hint of molasses, then a clean sweetness with a menthol-herbal aftertaste. This is a somewhat complex and very tasty honey. Given the texture it would be perfect on toast, but may not be runny enough for drizzling on plain yoghurt. It would also add a subtle floral flavor to teas, but may be overpowered by a strong tea.

I couldn't find an online seller for this honey, so you'll just have to make a note to stock up next time you are in Cinque Terre!  

Sulla honey (Miele fior di Sulla), Zafferana Etnea, Italy (Sicily)

Mt Etna at 2,700 meters, erupting

We were recently in Sicily and one of the highlights of the trip was hiking on and around Mount Etna. We were there for the June 17^th eruption so couldn’t go to the summit but, with the help of a hiking map, did other hikes at lower elevations on the southern and western slopes. The diversity of terrain and flora was astounding. From barren black landscapes pocked with craters at upper elevations, above the tree line, to lush forests of ferns to mature oak and pine forests at the lower elevations.  The temperature and wind conditions also varied significantly over short distances, based mostly on elevation.  At 1,200 meters (where we were staying at Zafferana Etna) it was warm (83⁰F), slightly breezy and sunny. As we climbed it became gradually cooler, cloudier and windier. At 2,700 meters (the highest we could go safely during the eruption) it was ‘take your breath away’ windy, and about 40⁰F not factoring in wind chill. If you ever go up, my advice is wear layers, fleece and a solid wind breaker.  There is also quite a lot of variation around rainfall depending on where you are. My impression was that the southern slope, at lower elevations, got a lot more precipitation than the western slope, making the plants quite different from one slope to the next.    

Hiking through ferns, Mt Etna

We hiked through oak forests, beech trees and ferns on the southern slope and mostly pine forests on the western slope. And, of course, recent (and not so recent) lava flows have a biodiversity all of their own with lichens, small shrubs and wild flowers emerging after a time. All this to say that if you ever have the chance, hiking on and around Mount Etna is a real treat, and that from a honey production point of view, it is a gold mine. 

A beech tree we saw on a hike, Mt Etna

This gold mine has not gone unnoticed! I learned that honey production is big business in this area of Sicily. I heard that 20% of all honey consumed in Italy originates from the Mount Etna area. In fact, Zafferana Etnea is called the ‘town of honey’ and there is no denying it. I’ve never seen a town have whole stores devoted to honey (and honey products), or road side trucks that sell only honey. To say the least, I was in my element and came home with a lot of Sicily’s liquid gold. I did try to limit myself to either types of honey that I’d never come across before (e.g. the Sulla honey that I’m reviewing here) or those that were tied to the unique floral diversity of the area (e.g. wildflower or mountain honeys). I'm a little embarrassed to say this resulted in me coming home with seven jars! 

The apiarist whom I spoke with

 I also had a chance to speak with one of the apiarists that produced some of the honey I bought- the Sulla honey was one of hers. Well, I use "speak" rather loosely since I don't know Italian and she spoke no English. I was trying to ask her what plant 'Sulla' was. She tried to describe it but I couldn't figure it out. All I know was that it grew locally and had red flowers. Out hiking I took photos of red wildflowers with the hope that it was Sulla, but it wasn't.

The red wildflowers that I thought might be Sulla- they aren't.

It took me coming home and searching on the internet to find out what exactly I was dealing with. I now know that even if the apiarist had spoken perfect English I would not have been the wiser- the Sulla plant was a complete unknown to me.

This is what I found out about the Sulla plant (Hedysarum coronarium): it is also known as French honeysuckle, Italian sainfoin, and cock’s head. It is from the Fabaceae, or Pea family.  It is drought (but not cold) resistant and likes hilly or mountainous terrain up to elevations of about 1,200 meters.  It is native to Sicily but also found wild around the Mediterranean basin, and in Australia and New Zealand. It is mostly used for animal fodder (hay) and honey production, but has also been used in human herbal remedies (it is thought to have astringent and cholesterol-lowering properties) and to reduce gastro-intestinal infections in sheep. 

Real Sulla flowers, courtesy of the web

I think it is a rather attractive plant and it is purported to have fragrant, red flowers, which look a little like lupin flowers to me. Its Latin name, as mentioned before, is Hedysarum coronarium. The 'coronarium' part refers to the fact that the petals form a 'crown.' It has deep roots, grows 2-4 feet tall, and is branchy. I’d call it a shrub. Usually a plant this attractive that has multiple uses would be mentioned in some ancient source or in poetry. Alas, the Sulla seems to have been taken for granted; I could not find any reference to it from any notable source. 

Sulla honey

The Sulla honey I have is a soft, cloudy yellow with a layer of clearer honey on top. The cloudy bit is due to crystal formation that makes it thick and gives it a very granular taste experience. I understand that Sulla honey is a fast crystallizer, crystallizing within a few months of harvest. I didn't think it had a particularly strong smell, but I've read that others have noted a faint floral and slightly hay-like scent. It is a sweet and uncomplicated honey with slight floral undertones. I think the most unique thing about it is its texture. It would be good in tea, even delicately flavored teas, and quite nice just out of the jar.