Corsican honey stands out for the range of plants it reflects: citrus and asphodel in spring, chestnut trees in summer, strawberry trees in autumn. It is protected by a designation of origin.
Photo : Alberto Cotogni / Pexels
Rich and varied, and unique to Corsica
According to the INAO (the French body for quality and origin labels), the Corsican bee is a local ecotype of the European dark bee (Apis mellifera mellifera), adapted to the island and able to forage all year round. Beekeepers move their hives from the coast up to the mountains as the seasons change, following the flowering. Honey is produced all over the island, and its floral origin is checked by pollen analysis, its “identity card”.
Corsican honey and the AOC
“Miel de Corse - Mele di Corsica” has been an appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC, the French designation of origin) since 1998 and a European protected designation of origin (PDO) since 2000. The specification covers every commune in Corsica. More information from the appellation’s producers’ association: mieldecorse.com.
The appellation and the organic label are separate: some of the island’s hives are also certified organic, as the figures in organic farming in Corsica show.
The six PDO honeys
The specification recognises six honeys, each linked to a set of plants and a season.
Spring honey
Clementine trees, asphodels, vetches and viper’s bugloss: a fruity, floral, delicate honey.
Spring maquis honey
Tree heath and stoechas lavender (French lavender), gathered throughout the spring.
Maquis honeydew honey
A dark honey with a malty flavour, made from honeydew (sugary secretions) collected by the bees from rockroses, oaks and spiny broom.
Chestnut grove honey
Harvested in early summer in the chestnut groves, along with ivy and clematis: a tannic honey with a marked bitterness.
Summer maquis honey
Hermann’s kidney vetch, brooms, cat thyme and Corsican thyme (Thymus herba-barona).
Autumn maquis honey
Strawberry tree honey, harvested in autumn and winter, with a pronounced bitterness.
