Honeybee_ Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper - C. Marina Marchese [84]
BLOOMS: April to July.
BOTANICAL NAME: Salvia mellifera (from the Latin word salveo, meaning “to save because of its medicinal value”)
COMMON NAMES: Ball sage; black button sage; purple, black, and white sages; salvia; sauge.
PROVENANCE: Native to the Mediterranean and the California coast.
TERRIOR: Canyons, high hills, sunny slopes. Prefers full sun and low humidity.
HONEY COLOR: Water white, light amber with green tinge.
TASTING NOTES: Elegant with an herbal, pungent, slightly warm flavor. A bit of pepper and anise with a floral essence. Heavy bodied. Slow to granulate.
PAIRINGS: Drizzle over Parmesan or manchego cheeses on olive oil crackers, and serve with burgundy. Mix into lemonade and herbal teas. Use as a glaze for veal, pork, beef, and game.
60. SAINFOIN (pronounced sān-fo˙in)
PLANT CHARACTERISTICS: A perennial herb used for animal fodder. The flowers are snowy white or pale pink and form in long spikes. The pollen, which is saffron yellow, and nectar are attractive to honeybees and yield good amounts of honey.
BLOOMS: June to September.
BOTANICAL NAME: Onobrychis viciifolia
COMMON NAMES: Esparcet, holy hay, holy grass, holy clover, crocette. (It is named holy clover because baby Jesus is said to have laid his head in this grass in the manger where he slept.) Sainfoin means healthy hay in French.
PROVENANCE: Native to Eurasia.
TERRIOR: Thrives in chalky rock soils, limestone soil, grassland, cultivated land, and wastelands. Prefers warm climates.
HONEY COLOR: Pale straw yellow.
TASTING NOTES: Sweet, fragrant, and floral with a spicy, delicate flavor. Medium bodied with a grainy and creamy texture. Crystallizes quickly.
PAIRINGS: A delightful spreading honey for baguettes, scones, and toasted brioche.
61. SAW PALMETTO
PLANT CHARACTERISTICS: A tall tree or shrub with yellow-green foliage all year round. Yellow-white flowers with large reddish black fruit.
BLOOMS: April to May.
BOTANICAL NAME: Serenoa repens
COMMON NAMES: Saw palmetto
PROVENANCE: The southeastern United States, most commonly along the Atlantic and Gulf Coast plains of North Carolina, Texas, and Florida.
TERRIOR: Sand ridges, flatwood forests, coastal dunes, and islands near marshes.
HONEY COLOR: Light yellow to amber
TASTING NOTES: Salty and citrusy with anise, prune, and herbal, woody overtones. Thinner in body than most honeys.
PAIRINGS: Drizzle over hard cheeses and serve with ham or prosciutto. Mix as dressings for tart greens or citrus salads. Stir into black teas.
62. SIDR
PLANT CHARACTERISTICS: An ancient tree considered sacred to the Muslims. This climbing evergreen has yellow fruit that is edible when it turns red. The clustered flowers are pale yellowish green. Sidr honey of Hadramaut is the most expensive and prized honey in the world. Yemen’s beekeepers ensure the purity of their honey and will allow their bees to die rather than feed them sugary syrup. The honey has an unusually high level of antioxidants.
BLOOMS: April to October.
BOTANICAL NAME: Ziziphus spina-christi
COMMON NAMES: The Sidr tree, lote tree, jujube, nabbag or nabkh tree. (It is believed that Jesus’s crown of thorns was made from Sidr branches.)
PROVENANCE: Native to Sudan and the mountains of Hadramaut, Yemen, on the southwestern Arabian peninsula.
TERRIOR: Tropical to subtropical valleys and desert regions. Requires full sun and is drought tolerant.
HONEY COLOR: Very dark amber, like motor oil.
TASTING NOTES: Apple. Rich and buttery. Thick body.
PAIRINGS: Sidr honey is known to have many medicinal benefits.
63. SOURWOOD
PLANT CHARACTERISTICS: A small tree with white bell-shaped, droopy flowers that resemble lily of the valley. The fruit is a small, woody capsule and has a sour aroma, which gives the plant its name. It is an important honey plant of the South, and the honeycombs are so delicate that extraction is difficult.
BLOOMS: Late June through July.
BOTANICAL NAME: Oxydendrum arboreum
COMMON NAMES: Sourwood, sorrel tree, lily of the valley tree, elk tree.
PROVENANCE: The Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, Tennessee,