Honeybee_ Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper - C. Marina Marchese [62]
CRYSTALLIZED OR CREAMED HONEY is a spreadable honey with a lovely granular texture that dissolves on the tongue. It is intentionally crystallized to give it the unique quality of being smooth and rough at the very same time. Creamed honey is a favorite in Europe and many countries and makes a sinful treat when spread on toast and sprinkled with cinnamon. Crystallized honey appears creamy and almost opaque and white in color. The process for forcing honey to granulate (see earlier in this chapter) was developed and patented by Professor Elton J. Dyce in 1935.
FRAMES OF HONEY are exactly that: full frames of honey taken right out of the beehive. The honey is still in the cells, and wax is still attached to the frame. Untouched by human hands, it is a rare and special item that will probably cost you a pretty penny. If you are inclined to enjoy your honey directly from the beehive, still in its original bee frame, ask your local beekeeper. I have had honey lovers and gourmet food chefs purchase full frames of honey for eating or just as an extravagant display. A full frame of honey is a stunning sight. It is considered a delicacy in some Middle Eastern countries.
INFUSED HONEY is honey that has flavors steeped or infused into it to enhance its natural flavor. Most commonly added flavorings are fruit flavors, herbs, spices, or essential oils. Be sure to read the labels carefully to see if the honey you are purchasing is the authentic varietal or an enhanced product with additives.
CHAPTER 13
Honey Sommelier: The Tasting of Honey
What comes to mind when you think of the Amalfi coast? Sundrenched beaches? Glorious gardens? Or apiaries, perhaps?
My appetite for adventure and passion for beekeeping began to take me on trips that afforded me the chance to explore the local honey culture of places around the world. Not long after becoming a beekeeper I traveled to Italy, where apiculture is a well-established agricultural activity and a way of life. After a short car ride over the hills north of the Amalfi coast, I arrived at the charming Bottega della Api, or the Little Bee Shop, in Cava di Tirreni, Italy. Beekeepers Giovanni and Francesco run a small organic apiary and small farm that includes more than three hundred hives. Neither of them speaks a word of English.
I had e-mailed ahead of time in order to arrange for a honey tasting, but had not received a response, so I arrived unannounced with the help of directions from a stranger I met at a nearby café. I found Giovanni in the driveway, and I introduced myself in his native tongue. When I told him I was a beekeeper, Giovanni broke into a warm smile. I explained to him that I had e-mailed Francisco to say I would like to schedule a tasting and that perhaps he was expecting me. I was invited to wait inside the honey shop while Giovanni called Francesco on his mobile phone. Inside the shop were humble displays of aromatic beeswax candles in all sorts of shapes and sizes, dark bottles of propolis, and of course, a large selection of bottles and clay pots filled with honey from the apiary. Each container was adorned with a simple grass tie and a handwritten tag. The clay pots were all hand painted with pictures depicting the Amalfi coastline. I was familiar with the chestnut, eucalyptus, and acacia varietals that were on display, but had not heard of rosmarino and corbezzolo. “What could these be?” I wondered.
Francesco entered the shop with a warm buona sera. I apologized for not calling ahead, and in a typical Mediterranean fashion, he welcomed me despite my unannounced arrival. He escorted me into the tasting room to sample the many varieties of honey they produced. The tasting room was a modest area inside a larger barnlike structure that housed all types of industrial-looking extracting equipment, honey shallows, and boxes full of freshly bottled honey. A stainless steel circular tank was full of dark, luscious honey, and a spigot was turning out the freshly strained goods. The aroma was intoxicating, and Francesco told me what I smelled