Greek Honey Production
The Greeks are known as experts when it comes to honey. It requires little processing, doesn’t spoil and tastes delicious.
The country’s famed biodiversity and temperate climate make it a bee’s paradise.
It is possible to produce many types of honey: monofloral (from one flower only), polyfloral and blended.
Conifer Honey
Greece’s rich natural environment for bees produces a variety of exquisite types of honey. These include dark, thick pine and fir honey (accounting for 70% of the country’s total production), orange-blossom or flower blossom honey, heather honey, as well as Cretan thyme honey with its intense herbal aroma.
Fir honey, originating from the pine forests of Vytina in Peloponnese, is known for its woody flavor and delayed crystallization. It is a great source of minerals and is considered to be good for digestive problems, insomnia and anemia.
The summer sunshine in Greece gives its herbs, such as thyme, a potency that is transferred to the honey they produce. It is used to treat everything from sore throats to aches and pains, as it has strong antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant properties. It also has anti-inflammatory and healing effects. Thyme honey is produced throughout Greece, but especially in Crete, Kythera and Mount Hymettus. It has a unique amber, red-ish colour and a pearlescent shine.
Thyme Honey
Honey has been used as a sweetener and natural remedy since ancient times. It is naturally low in glycemic index and has a lower caloric content than sugar. Moreover, it contains antioxidants, minerals and a host of other beneficial nutrients.
Honey can also be used as a natural sweetener for healthy breakfasts, snacks and tea. It also helps boost energy levels and provides an instant natural sugar kick when needed.
As its name suggests, thyme honey is made by bees that collect nectar from the aromatic thymes found on Greece’s rocky hillsides. The honey is extracted cold and unfiltered preserving its natural aromas, yeast enzymes and phenols. It is a versatile sweetener and can be added to a variety of recipes or enjoyed on its own with cheese. It is a great digestive aid and is known for its antibacterial properties. It is often recommended for treating coughs and sore throats. Our thyme honey is produced on the island of Kythera by a family of beekeepers who practice traditional nomadic beekeeping methods.
Citrus Honey
Long before olive oil, Greeks fell in love with honey, a food which needs little processing and can be stored for ages. Honey is also a natural sweetener, but has more nutritional value than sugar and also contains antioxidants, minerals and phytochemicals.
In Greece, apiculture is thriving. The country’s temperate climate, its rich flora and traditional methods of production allow beekeepers to produce diverse, top quality honeys that are renowned internationally.
Sixty percent of the national production comes from conifer trees – pine, fir and spruce – where bees draw honeydew (secretions from an insect called Marchalina hellenica) to make their honey. The rest is thyme, orange blossom, chestnut and heather honey, among others.
These herbs and flowers are all found in Greece, where the dry Aegean summer sunshine gives their potency a boost which carries through to the honey they produce. The result is a rich, aromatic honey that is full of beneficial nutrients.
Honey from Ikaria
The luscious honey of Ikaria, which we blogged about over a year ago, is unique in that it is unfiltered and has very little added sugar. As a result, it has a very thick consistency with an intense nutty flavor.
Almost 65% of all honey production in Greece comes from pine and fir honey, which bees make by drawing honeydew (sugary secretions) from a scale insect species called Marchalina hellenica that sucks the sap of the trees. This type of honey is very rare and has garnered worldwide fame among connoisseurs.
In general, Greek honey has a low level of processing, which preserves its natural taste and nutritional value. The country’s climate is ideal for apiculture, and Greek beekeepers have a high level of expertise, and constantly upgrade their equipment while safeguarding traditional methods that ensure a natural, top tier product. This is how the artisanal honey of Greece stands out as exceptional, even beyond its world-renowned reputation.