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.

Daniolo Strawberry Tree Organic Honey, Greece

Daniolo is a brand of a Greek company (Capacious Ltd) that operates out of Cyprus and specializes in working with small farmers (and apiarists) to bring to market products from the Greek Mediterranean basin. The company was founded by Constantine Daniolos and has a diverse product line that includes Kalamata olives, olive oil, olive oil soap, oregano, and honey (strawberry tree, wild thyme, vanilla fir and chestnut). All products are certified organic.

The Strawberry Tree showing flowers and fruit

I have their Strawberry Tree honey (although the label on my honey states “Strawberry raw honey organic” I think it is, in fact, Strawberry Tree honey, since the company makes the latter and not the former). I wasn’t familiar with what a Strawberry Tree was and had to look it up. According to wiki, Strawberry Tree is an evergreen shrub or small tree (Arbutus unedo) in the Etricaceae family (also known as the heath or heather family and includes cranberries, blueberries, huckleberries, azalea, rhododendron and common heaths and heathers). It is native to Western Europe, Ireland and the Mediterranean region, and happiest in warm, dry climates. “What on earth is it doing in Ireland?” you may ask. Strangely, it also grows well in the cool, wet summers of western Ireland, and in temperate regions. 

The fruit (berries) of the Strawberry Tree

Of interest, in Ireland it is known as the “Killarney Strawberry tree.” Its presence in Ireland (notably in Killarney and around Lough Gill in County Sligo) is apparently a remnant of its being there during the Atlantic period (circa 8000 BC to circa 3100 BC) when the climate was much warmer than today. Presumably it adapted to the climate as it changed. 

The shrub generally produces white, bell shaped flowers in a cluster that resemble snow bells. The fruit, however, is a red berry with a rough surface, and although edible, is not terribly flavorful in its raw form. The fruit take a year to mature so one often finds ripe fruit and flowers on the same shrub. The fruits are used to make jams and liqueurs (e.g. the Portuguese medronho, a type of brandy), but the plant is mostly cultivated as an ornamental shrub.

The Strawberry Tree has gotten its share of notice in the arts. It has been figured in paintings (e.g. The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch), is on the coat of arms of the city of Madrid, and is mentioned by Ovid in Metamorphose.

Madrid Coat of Arms with a bear eating Strawberry Tree fruit

The honey that is produced from the Strawberry Tree is reportedly bitter. In fact, Pliny the elder (AD 23- AD 79) wrote that it should not be planted where bees are kept because of the bitterness it would impart to honey. For some, however, the unusual flavor, sometimes also described as having an aroma hinting of roasted coffee beans, it thought to make for a tasty combination with pungent cheeses or cured meats. 

Daniolo Strawberry (Tree) Raw Honey Organic

The honey is a mellow caramel color with lots of particulate matter (a good sign that it hasn’t been overly filtered). It has a slightly pungent smell, subtly smoky with a faint licorice aroma. It is a fairly thick honey, and quite clear in small quantities. It rolls around on first taste and is not overly flavorful, but then gradually an aromatic flavor emerges. It has a (soft) bitter undertone that lingers, but there is also a hint of menthol and licorice that grows in prominence. It is an altogether unusual and very pleasant honey! I didn’t taste the coffee that some have mentioned and, while I did taste some bitterness, it was very mild. Given the delicate flavor I would not recommend using this honey in baking or with other strong flavors that would drown it out (i.e. in a strong black tea), but it would be very nice on buttered toast, with interesting cheeses, or straight out of the jar.

Labonté Pure & Natural Organic Honey (Brazil) Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada

Labonté honey has been a fixture in Quebec for over 70 years. In 1937 Rolland Labonté started the business in Victoriaville and it has grown into a large, global operation. Jean-Marc Labonté continues the tradition as the current head of the company. Labonté honey offers local Quebecois honey (blueberry, clover, and "pure and natural" which is probably a wild flower mix), and packages and distributes honey from Brazil (eucalyptus and organic pure and natural). You may know them for their "upside down pack no mess" honey bottles. They also produce maple syrup and offer bulk honey. And they aren't kidding when they call it bulk; their bulk containers range in size from 7 kg to 30 kg pails to a 1,400 kg Intermediate Bulk Container (IBC). It is hard for me to imagine the scale of 1,400 kg of honey. I envision a small swimming pool of liquid gold, which isn't too far off (see photo of 1,000 liter IBC containers).

 

1000 liter IBC containers

 Labonté honey also prides itself in its quality assurance program and are HACCP certified (i.e. use the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point Food Safety Management System), are ECO certified and BIO certified (for their organic products). If you want guarantees that you are getting 100% natural honey, you can't go wrong with Labonté honey.

 

The honey I have is their "pure & natural organic honey" from Brazil. I checked the Labonté honey website to see if there was any more information about the honey-where in Brazil, what the floral was, etc.-but came up empty handed.  Usually if a floral source isn't specified it is a wild flower blend. 

Labonté Pure & Natural organic honey from Brazil

The honey is an amber golden color, very clear and of medium thickness, exactly what you think of when you think of honey. I don't see any particulate matter in it. It has a uniform sweet flavor with a hint of eucalyptus menthol at the end. This makes me think that they may place hives in the border areas around a eucalyptus forest or some batches of their eucalyptus honey have too much pollen from other sources, so it ends up being "pure and natural organic honey" rather than eucalyptus honey.  In my opinion some of the most interesting honey has multiple floral sources. 

 

This is a very good quality, robust honey that will please anyone who likes traditional honey. It is perfect for hot toast, baking or adding to tea or hot cereal.

 

 

Mandarin Italian Honey (Rigoni diAsiago), Calabria, Italy

Barbara, a friend of mine, gave me this honey, which is produced and distributed by Rigoni diAsiago, a family business run by the Rigoni family of Altopiano diAsiago, Italy.

Altopiano diAsiago, Italy

From the Rigoni diAsiago website, the business began over a hundred years ago with Nonna Elisa who, being widowed with nine children, began a beekeeping business with her two eldest sons after WWI. The business was successful and grew, and is still managed by Nonna Elisa's descendents. They have been innovators and trailblazers in the industry; they introduced monofloral honey in 1979 and went organic in the 1990s. To expand their product range, they added organic jams and hazelnut spreads. In addition they have expanded their markets to include the US, a variety of European countries, and recently, Japan. 

The business has come a long way since Nonna Elisa's time. The company owns large organic farm operations in Italy and Bulgaria, and employs 2,000 season fruit-pickers and 200 full timers. But the mission has not changed much: to provide products that are naturally flavorful and retain as much of the original nutritional properties as possible. To this end, they have gone high tech, with laboratories on site that run quality checks at each stage of production. For honey, this means verifying the pollen source of the monofloral honey as well as other aspects of its make up. They are also environmentally aware, using solar energy in their production plants and minimizing water usage by recycling steam.

Calabria, Italy

Rigoni diAsiago produce a range of organic Italian honey including wildflower, acacia, orange blossom, lime, pine, mandarin, chestnut, and forest. Not only is their honey certified organic, but it is also raw, meaning that it is cold pressed rather than heated. This process results in the honey retaining a superior flavor as well as many vitamins, minerals, etc. that are lost if heated.

The most recent addition to their honey line is  Mandarin honey. It is harvested in Calabria, a region in southern Italy (i.e.the toe of Italy). Most of the area is mountainous or hilly, but farmers in Calabria have been growing crops along the lower slopes for centuries. Most notable among these crops are olives, grapes and citrus fruit.

One travel site referred to Calabria as the Caribbean of Europe, complete with stunning beaches, impressive landscapes and an abundance of charm and history. It you are looking for hillside towns, ancient Greek temples and Byzantine churches in a pastoral setting, look no further!

Calabria Citrus

The mandarin orchards that produce this honey are grown on plantations using organic growing methods. Twenty-six bee colonies collect the honey in two thousand hives scattered throughout the orchards, and the honey is harvested from April until May.

The honey is thick. It rolls onto a toothpick in cloudy, sateen sheets of milky yellow, not unlike pulled taffy. It is an incredibly smooth and creamy with only a burst of sweetness at the end. I was expecting the bitterness of citrus that I have tasted in lime honey, but it isn't there. Instead there is a subtle orange blossom perfume, but it is very delicate and fleeting. Given the opaque quality of the honey, I also expected a texture of fine crystals, but it isn't there either. It is as smooth as silk. It lingers momentarily, and then quickly melts.

mandarin honey

This honey is a fine quality honey that could be used in tea, on toast or hot cereal, or in baking. It has an unusual thickness and delicate flavor, however, so might be best eaten straight out of the jar so as to maximize the appreciation of its uniqueness.

 You can buy this honey online or find it in the US at Whole Foods Supermarkets.

Maya Miel, Oxkutzcab, Yucatan, Mexico

Oxkutzcab (red), Yucatan peninsula in Mexico

My friend Barbara recently vacationed in Mexico and  brought me back honey from Oxkutzcab, a town in the Yucatan state of Mexico. Interestingly, according to Wiki the name 'Oxkutzcab' in the Yucatec Maya language means 'place of ramon, tobacco and honey.' This sounds very promising. But first, what is ramon? It turns out it is a tree (Brosimum alicastrum) known as the breadnut or Maya nut tree and is part of the family of trees that includes mulberries and figs. In some indigenous Mesoamerican languages it is known as 'ox,' and I'm assuming the 'Ox' in 'Oxkutzcab' refers to it. But, back to Oxkutzcab.

Oxkutzcab is a small town, with a population of about 21,000. It is an agricultural community where sugar, tobacco, maize, fruit, and Henequen is grown. Henequen (Agave fourcroydes) is an agave. The leaves are very fibrous and are used to make rope and twine.

Iglesia a san Francisco de Asis, Oxkutzcab, Yucatan, Mexico

Oxkutzcab is also a very old town, dating back to pre-Columbian times. If you google Oxkutzcab and look for images you'll see many of a very beautiful and impressive church, the iglesia dedicada a san Francisco de Asis. According to web sources, after the Spanish conquest of Yucatan, Oxkutzcab was established as a Spanish colonial town (1550s) and Mayan temples were demolished. In their place this large Franciscan church was built. The current iteration was built between 1640-1693, and in front of it is the town's large market square.

Oxkutzcab, which has a number of interesting tourist attractions, is known for its "Festival of Oranges" (Feria de la Naranja). This isn't too surprising since the municipality of Oxkutzcab is known as the 'Orchard of the State of Yucatan.' I won't be surprised if the honey from the area has a citrus quality.

29th Annual Festival of Oranges, Oxkutzcab

The Festival of Oranges happens at the end of November each year, and as far as I can gather they celebrate everything citrus (and a few other local specialties) from local producers. I found a fantastic photos of the 29th annual festival showing a very impressive tree made of oranges and other citrus. In addition to being able to buy and sample produce, judges award prizes, there there are musicians and artists, and fireworks.

The town is also known for its tricicleros, a kind of a bicycle with two wheels in the front separated by a support, where you can transport passengers or haul loads.

Tricicleros, Oxkutzcab, Mexico

 I also found some information about beekeeping in the Yucatan. It seems that honey has been harvested in the area for as long as there have been people there. Currently there are an estimated 11,000 beekeepers in the state. More recently, to be more attractive to European buyers, some beekeepers have formed collectives that share equipment and marketing costs, and produce and harvest organic-certified honey. The rural, unspoilt area and traditional beekeeping methods make the Yucatan particularly well suited to producing organic honey. In 2011-12 it was estimated that  8-10,000 tons of honey were produced, with most of it being sold in Germany.

Maya Miel, Oxkutzcab, Yucatan, Mexico

The honey I have is packaged and produced by Maya Miel of Tekax, a small town just south of Oxkutzcab. Their website is pretty basic but states that their honey is 100% natural Yucatan honey and of the highest quality. The honey is an opaque reddish-yellow color. The opacity suggests that it has not been overly filtered so that some of the particulate matter and pollen have been retained. The honey is very thin and difficult to twirl enough on a toothpick to sample. It has an herbal first flavor with light, subtle slightly bitter (citrus?) after taste. It is not too sweet. Given how thin and runny it is I think it would be perfect drizzled on yoghurt or hot buttered toast. The flavor is delicate, however, and may be lost in baking or other cooking, though it might add a nice taste to herbal and black teas.