Corsican honey

U MELE DI CORSICA. On average Corsica produced 210 tonnes of honey per year. However, this production has been slowed down by the creation of the A.O.C. because of its quality and hygiene requirements.

So it's a blessing in disguise, especially as a centre for the selection and multiplication of the corsican bee.

Based on a simple process that is nonetheless very complicated to carry out, it involves depriving the hive of its queen. bees will then feed numerous larvae with royal jelly to give birth to future queens.

This long and tedious process will, in the medium to long term, result in a definite increase in the number of number of hives in Corsica. When you consider that demand is almost 1.5 times greater than supply. How can we explain this phenomenon? Quite simply because of the incomparable quality and taste of honey from Corsica !

In ancient times, the Greeks spotted the island's fabulous potential for this type of production! So much so that Corsica has long paid tribute to invaders in wax and silver honey ! So you see, Corsican honeys are an essential part of the history and activity of Corsica.

A wealth and diversity specific to Corsica

All you have to do is look around to see nature at its best - 2,800 species of flowers and plants, 127 of which are found only in France. Corsica ! So it's this extraordinary variety of scrubland flowers that provides the bees with their nectar and gives this honey a very special taste.

Each honey reflects a landscape, a season, a flowering, a fragrance. That's why beekeepers follow the seasons and blossoms to give each bee its own unique scent. honey a particular taste depending on the combination of this or that flower. They practise a sort of transhumance for the bees.

Corsican honey and the AOC

Obtained in 1998, the AOC " Honey from Corsica- Mele di Corsica "is the fruit of a joint effort by beekeepers Corsicanthe Miel et Pollen laboratory attached to the University of Corsica and the Institut des Appellations d'Origine (INAO).

The aim of this certification is to provide consumers with a guarantee of the origin and conformity of products to a range of Cors honeye.

The six categories of Corsican honey

Here are the six categories of Corsican honey which you can find here:

Corsican spring honey

It is sweet, fruity and delicate. Harvested in the lower valleys and plains, the bees gather in the clementine orchards and asphodel groves.

Summer maquis honey

It is aromatic and fruity. Harvested in the high valleys of the mountain CorsicaIt is enhanced by the combination of several maquis plants: Germandrée, broom, Immortelle, Corsican thyme and Anthyllis.

Autumn maquis honey

Bitter and strong in the mouth, it is harvested from November to February. Its persistent flavour comes from the unique flowering of the strawberry tree!

Spring maquis honey

It is harvested from May to August from the sea to the mountains. Its richness on the palate comes from the white heather and sea lavender.

Châtaigneraie honey

Tannic and persistent, it is harvested from July to September in areas planted with chestnut trees. The combination of chestnut with ivy and clematis gives it a certain bitterness on the palate, making it a long, strong honey.

Honeydew honey from the maquis

It, too, is long on the palate, lingering and malty. Harvested from May to September in wooded areas (maquis, oak groves, rockrose and calico) it is a honey which has a fairly dark colour.

For further information:

Syndicat AOP Miel de Corse, Mele di Corsica
Pont d'Altiani station - RN 200
20251 Altiani
Tel.: + 33 (0)4 95 48 69 69
Fax: + 33 (0)4 95 48 69 70
Site : http://mieldecorse.com/