One honey does not come from flowers but from honeydew, the sugary secretion of other insects. A superfood worthy of exploration.
Honey, the composition
Honey is an oversaturated solution of sugars (80 percent) and water (17.5 percent), with possible traces of pollen. Sugars are simple, glucose and fructose predominantly, sucrose in a much smaller proportion. And it is precisely the glucose content–related to the type of flower from which the bees take nectar–that affects the crystallization of honey. That remains liquid, for example, where derived from acacia and chestnut (or millefiori with their prevalence).
Organic acids (0.5 percent) give the honey stability and flavors. The gluconic acid, in addition to creating an acidic environment, generates that minimal amount of hydrogen peroxide that produces a balsamic effect. Some studies point to its antioxidant properties and ability to counteract degenerative processes related to inflammation. (1)
Protein is almost absent. Outside of calluna honey, which contains 1-2% of a plant protein that is responsible for its unusual viscosity. Bees, after all, are ‘opportunistic animals.’ That is, they go wherever they find food, starting with protein that they in turn assimilate, turning pollen into a source of life.
Mineral salts-also referred to as ash (inorganic nonvolatile residue after carbonization-vary between 0.02 and 0.1 percent. Potassium predominantly (ca. 75%), as well as chlorine, sulfur, sodium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, silicon, iron, manganese, copper. Related to the characteristics of the soil where the plants grow.
Honey from honeydew, the production
Metcalfa
pruinosa
is a pest insect of Neartic origin, spread from Quebec to Brazil, to which American entomologists have paid very little attention. (2) It has been colonizing European plants for almost half a century now, in the summer season. It was first reported right in the Veneto region, around Treviso, garnering particular attention from Italian entomologists who have devoted about 100 scientific publications to it so far. (3)
The alien species feeds on the plant sap of which it assimilates only the proteins and excretes the sugary part by secretion of a white waxy fuzz. Honeydew precisely, released on the plants by the metcalfa and taken up by the di bees, which are fond of it.
‘
Honeydew honey
‘ : honey obtained mainly from substances secreted by sucking insects (Hemiptera) found on living parts of plants or from secretions from living parts of plants‘ (dir. 2001/110/EC, c.d. Honey Directive, All. I, Sec. 2.a.ii)
Honeydew is emitted in the form of droplets. Colorless as soon as it is emitted, it darkens on contact with air. The various types of honeydew are distinguished according to the plant of origin. The honeydews most desired by bees are those of white spruce(Abies alba Miller), an important beekeeping resource in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, and willow(Salixspp.).
Honeydew, composition and health beneficial properties
Highly bio-available organic mineral salts with vital roles that are indispensable to the body have been found in honeydew honey by Italian researchers. In both forms of macronutrients (potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium) and essential trace elements (iron, copper, chromium). (4)
Honeydew honey has extraordinary antibacterial as well as antioxidant properties. A scientific study demonstrated its efficacy against 10 bacterial strains of Staphylococcus aureus. (5) A finding of particular interest given the difficulties of treating related infections by antibiotics. It is also recommended to aid recovery from dehydration caused by diarrhea or vomiting, as well as intense physical exertion (e.g., sports activity).
Its combination with crude Italian propolis (active on many bacterial strains and viruses) has an antiseptic role in the respiratory tract and is certainly a valuable natural support to fight bronchitis, pharyngitis and colds, especially in children who are often treated only with synthetic antibiotics in these cases.
Honeydew honey, which one to buy?
It is necessary to change the approach, that is, to start from the analysis of which products not to buy:
– honeys that have undergone pasteurization or heat treatment, which strip them of their health properties, should be avoided. Although they meet the favor of those consumers who still prefer ‘always liquid’ honeys,
– The purchase of products whose area where the bees have taken the sugary substances is not known with certainty should also be avoided. In fact, honeydews result from the processing of substances contained in plants and can therefore absorb heavy metals (such as copper, aluminum, lead, nickel, mercury) when plants are located in industrialized areas or near major roadways. (6)
Italy’s best honeys of 2018
Enologists more careful know how to appreciate wines in relation to the cultivar and to the terroir, to the methods and vintages of production. It is to be hoped that similar sensitivity may one day develop on grass milk and the cheeses derived from them. What herb, what vintage?
Italy can boast just as much richness in numerous ecosystems where unique honeys are made, yet they escape the glossy pages of the most fashionable food and gastronomy magazines. Clover, bramble, raspberry, gorse, rowan, wild pear and apple, medlar, quince, agazin, hawthorn, sainfoin, forget-me-nots, bastard indigo, goldenrod, strawberry tree, sage, lavender are mentioned.
As for honeydew, 3 gold drops (the maximum score) were awarded in the 2018 ‘Grandi Mieli D’Italia’ competition to Anna Paola Barbero of the ‘Me Na Vira’ farm in Civasso (Turin), For a delicacy obtained from acacia, bramble and wild cherry trees, at the Valle del Nervo in the province of Asti. (7)
Honeydew, what types?
The most common ‘honeydews’ are forest, spruce and fir.
Forest honeydew is the most common is easy to find in Italy. Dark amber color, tending almost to black, ‘dry’ texture, pronounced vegetable scent that may recall tomato preserves or passata, rather than cooked fruit, fig jam, yeast. The flavor is an extraordinary fruity and caramelized bouquet of malt syrup and dried fruit, with a slight saline aftertaste.
White spruce honeydew ( Abies Alba, of the pinaceae family) is collected in both the Alps and Apennines, between 400 and 1,800 meters above sea level. Color varies from dark amber to black, sometimes with greenish hues. The consistency is liquid, the odor so intense as to inspire comments such as ‘smoky,’ ‘isolvaleric acid,’ ‘cooked,’ ‘condensed milk,’ ‘burnt,’ ‘resin,’ ‘damp forest,’ ‘balsamic,’ ‘mountain pine,’ ‘malty,’ ‘putrid vegetable,’ ‘incense,’ ‘caramel. Taste and aroma are in turn described with expressions such as ‘burnt wet wood,’ ‘resin,’ ‘wax,’ ‘hot,’ ‘resin,’ ‘cooked,’ ‘slightly burnt,’ ‘candied peel,’ ‘speck,’ ‘mountain pine shoot syrup,’ ‘malty,’ ‘smoky,’ ‘licorice,’ ‘balsamic,’ and ‘caramelized.
Spruce honeydew (Picea excelsa, of the pinaceae family) has an almost exclusively alpine distribution, especially in dry valleys and interior ranges between 1000 and 1900 meters above sea level. It remains liquid for a long time, is very viscous and rarely crystallizes completely, and has a light to dark amber color, sometimes with reddish hues. Smell and taste is of medium intensity, persistent and not very sweet on the palate. The odor is described in terms of ‘burnt wet wood,’ ‘caramelized,’ ‘animal,’ ‘slightly resinous,’ ‘chocolate,’ ‘pastry,’ ‘cake,’ ‘vegetable (when smeared),’ ‘powdered sugar,’ ‘condensed milk,’ ‘pandoro,’ ‘vanillin,’ ‘pastry,’ ‘malty,’ ‘salty,’ ‘incense,’ ‘smoky,’ ‘licorice,’ ‘cooked sweet. Aroma and taste in turn find comments such as ‘smoky,’ ‘caramelized,’ ‘condensed milk,’ cooked, malted, panna cotta, (slightly) resinous, ‘candied smoked,’ ‘slightly bitter,’ ‘refreshing,’ ‘menthol,’ ‘malty,’ ‘cooked vegetable,’ ‘cooked milk,’ ‘slightly balsamic.
Oak honeydew, which we do not indulge in describing since it is characteristic of other geographical areas, is also noteworthy, however, since it is the subject of scientific research that has shown it to have significant antibacterial activity, compared with classic acacia honey. (8)
What future?
‘Honeydew,’ as it is called in the jargon of beekeepers, has always been highly valued in Northern Europe. In Germany especially, where domestic production was predominantly direct until a decade ago. In the last decade it has also begun to garner interest in Italy, where its wholesale value is currently close to that of citrus and chestnut honeys (€5.80/kg at the end of 2018).
The weather in recent years has unfortunately penalized its production, which in northern Italy has reached record lows with yields of 0 to 10 kg per hive. This compares with 10-20 kg in the South, from lower Benevento to Puglia. Thunderstorms indeed dilute the sugary substances, resetting the melliferous potential. Prolonged drought on the other hand slows down plant metabolism, which greatly reduces the availability of ‘food’ for the predatory insect.
The honeydew shortage, however, is mainly due to the needs of the European agricultural sector to protect crops, primarily those affected in the summer period including grapevines. Therefore, regional plans to combat metcalfa are established in many EU countries, including chemical type interventions and inoculation of other alien species capable of damaging its biological cycle. Honeydew will therefore be increasingly minor, possible only where produced in foothill forested areas that have not undergone ‘reclamation’ programs.
Guido Cortese and Dario Dongo
Notes
(1) Bengmark, Stig. (2006). ‘Impact of nutrition on ageing and disease‘. Current opinion in clinical nutrition & metabolic care 9.1: 2-7
Schramm, Derek D., et al. (2003). ‘Honey with high levels of antioxidants can provide protection to healthy human subjects’. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry 51.6: 1732-1735
(2) Walden B.H. (1922). ‘The mealy flatas, Ormenis pruinosa Say and O. septentrionalis Spin‘. Connecticut Agric. Expt. Sta. Bull., 234: 189-190.
Dean H. A., Bailey J. H. (1961). ‘A Flatid Planthopper, Metcalfa pruinosa’. J. Econ. Entom., 54: 1104-1106.
Mead F.V. (1969). ‘Citrus flatid planthopper Metcalfa pruinosa Say (Homoptera, Flatidae)’. Entomol. Circular 85, Florida D.A., 2 pp.
Wilson S.W., Mc Pherson J.E. (1981). ‘Life histories of Anormenis septentrionalis, Metcalfa pruinosa and Ormenoides venusta with descriptions of immature stages‘. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am., 74: 299- 311
(3) Zangheri S., Donadini P. (1980). ‘Occurrence in the Veneto region of a Neartic Homoptera: Metcalfa pruinosa’.
Sofri A. (1999). ‘The danger comes from the Metcalfa’. Panorama, 32: 178
SE., (1999). ‘The failures of the butterfly from America‘. The Press, 9/15/99
(4) Pisani Anastasia et al. (2008). ‘
Minor and trace elements in different honey types produced in Siena County (Italy).
.
‘ Food Chemistry 107.4:1553-1560. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2007.09.029
(5) Bobis O., et al. (2008). ‘Honeydew honey: correlations between chemical composition, antioxidant capacity and antibacterial effect.’ Lucrări Ştiinţifice-Zootehnie şi Biotehnologii, Universitatea de Ştiinţe Agricole şi Medicină Veterinară a Banatului Timişoara 41.2:271-277
(6) J. Lachman et al. (2007). ‘
Analysis of minority honey components: Possible use for the evaluation of honey quality.
‘. Food Chemistry, 101-3:973-979. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2006.02.049
(7) Cf. https://www.informamiele.it/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Guida-3-Gocce-doro.pdf, page 28
(8) Dinkov, D. H. (2013). ‘Correlation between antibacterial and antioxidant activity in oak honeydew and Acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia l.) bee honeys’. The V International Scientific and Practical Conference on ‘Current State and Perspectives of Food Industry and Catering Development’, Chelyabinsk, Russia. Vol. 1
Computer scientist and professional beekeeper. A former conscientious objector, he served and then volunteered in a canteen for the homeless in Turin. He deals with the right to food, food policy, food sovereignty and biodiversity. He founded the association of Metropolitan Pollinators with the aim of defending biodiversity through specific projects of social and environmental regeneration. He represents the Slow Food Community of Metropolitan Pollinators. He promoted the birth of the national network of urban beekeepers. He directs an independent agricultural market, collaborates and writes for Egalitè (Onlus Rome) which deals with defending the rights of disadvantaged people, and with the newspapers Great ItalianFood Trade, Qualiformaggio, L'apicoltore Italiano and minor magazines.
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
