Best Western European Honey Types
Miel de Provence is honey produced from one or more flowers from the wild flora of the French regions of Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur, Drôme and Gard. The single-flower honeys have a floral taste while multi-flower kinds of honey have a 'planty', fruity taste.
The honeys are unique in their organoleptic qualities deriving from the specific Provence flora, with flowers such as lavender and rosemary making unique lavender honey, and rosemary honey, made from only one type of flower. The products are packaged in glass jars and ready to be enjoyed, either for breakfast with toast and butter, or used in a variety of tea drinks.
This Portuguese variety of honey has great nutritional value, and it is made by the Apis mellifera bee species from the Iberian Peninsula. These bees are kept in the municipality of Lousã, near the city of Coimbra, and they feed on the nectar of local flowers and chestnut trees.
The honey is thick, syrupy, and dark amber in color, while its flavor is intense with notes of wood and heather. It can crystallize at low temperatures, at which point the intensity of its color. It can be eaten as raw, used as a sweetener and a sugar substitute, or can be incorporated into various traditional cakes and desserts.
Miel de Sapin des Vosges is honey made from honeydew collected by bees from fir trees in the mountainous region of Vosges in France. The honey has a specific dark brown color and golden highlights. Its taste is uniquely intense, malty with hints of mint, heather and bramble.
The honey also has balsamic flavors, but is devoid of all bitterness, and sold in liquid form in glass containers. Because it is made from honeydew, it contains dextrin and gum products, which have medicinal benefits for the consumer, so the honey is praised for its calming effect on the respiratory tract.
This wildflower honey is gathered by the Apis mellifera bee species native to the Iberian Peninsula and the district of Faro in Portugal. The honey is made from several local floral varieties, such as lavender, heather, eucalyptus, citrus, and plum.
It is characterized by its typical bittersweet aftertaste. The honey is gathered from May to July and is dark yellow in color. The flavor is delicately sweet, and it can be eaten as is or used in the preparatin of cakes, cookies, and traditional spirits.
Harvested from apiaries in the districts of Évora, Beja, and Portalegre, Alentejo honey is made using nectar collected from lavender, rosemary, eucalyptus, and orange blossoms. The complex flavor of this luxurious honey are the result of the amazingly diverse plant life of Alentejo, a region located in southeastern Portugal just above the Tagus River.
Depending on the predominant pollen, the color of Alentejo honey ranges from yellow to amber, while its flavor ranges from the mild and delicate rosemary, lavender, and orange blossom honey to rich and strong eucalyptus honey. Mel do Alentejo producers have received numerous awards at international competitions, and their honey is widely used both in Portugal and abroad.
This honey is made according to the tradition of beekeeping in the Azores, which dates back to the sixteenth century. The most important aspects of beekeeping in the region are linked to its ecological function, as honey bees pollinate most of the crops on the islands, and its economic value, as its high quality makes it an important source of income for the islanders.
Azores wildflower honey is made from the nectar of various types of flower, including traditional species such as plum, chestnut, citrus, eucalyptus, and rosemary, as well as subtropical species such as banana, passion fruit, pineapple, avocado, and guava.
One of the most famous varieties, known as incense honey, is derived from the nectar of the sweet pittosporum tree, a tree native to Australia that now grows all over the Azores. The floral variety has a dark-brown color, a pleasant taste, and a smooth consistency, while the incense honey is a pale yellow.
This honey is made by Apis mellifera bees from Iberian wildflower nectar collected from the Mediterranean plant life of the Ribatejo region in central Portugal. It comes in four types, depending on the different percentages of pollen they contain: Serra d'Aire (rosemary, lavender, and mint), Albufeira de Castelo de Bode (heather, myrtle, and chestnut), Bairro (thistle), and Alto Nabão (eucalyptus pollen).
The honey is characterized by its intense aroma, floral flavor, and light yellow color. Apart from being consumed in its natural state, this product is used heavily in the production of local bread and pastries. One famous example of this is Broas, a sweet bread made with flour, honey, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Miel de Corse, or Mele di Corsica, is a honey made on the island of Corsica, France with a unique odor, smell and taste featuring the island's prevalent floral types. The honey must be obtained from the nectar of honeybees of the endemic species Apis Mellifera Mellifera, existing only in Corsica, and the hives are smoked using natural fuel.
It is collected when fully mature, throughout the year, and the honeycomb must be larvae-free. The taste of this honey is very intense and strong - consisting of around 2,800 flower varieties. There are lots of varieties of Corsican honey - spring honey, chestnut honey, summer, clementine, or citrus honey, so everyone can find their own particular flavor to enjoy.
Miel de Tenerife is a honey produced on the island of Tenerife. It is made from the nectar of flowers that grow in the unique ecosystem of the Island. It is a raw honey and is processed without the use of heat, protecting its natural nutritional characteristics.
It comes in three varieties - liquid, creamy or crystallized, and can contain parts of honeycomb. Miel de Tenerife is mostly a multi-floral honey, but can also be made from the nectar of a single flower variety such as Avocado, Chestnut, Fennel or Agave.
Miel de Liébana is a honey produced in the region of Liébana, in the Autonomous Community of Cantabria. It comes in two varieties; honeydew and floral honey made from the nectar of oak and heather. This is a very flavorful honey with a heavy floral scent and slightly bitter and salty notes.
Miel de Liébana has a dark amber color and it is almost completely opaque. This honey is very viscous and crystallizes easily to a fine-grained consistency. To ensure freshness and quality, every step of the production, from the extraction and filtering, to packaging, must take place in the designated region.
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