L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2023 www.italoamericano.org 28 L'Italo-Americano LIFESTYLE FASHION FOOD ARTS ADVICE W ho does- n ' t h a v e a j a r o f h o n e y i n t h e pantry? A naturally healthy and versatile product, honey has a place in many a recipe but it is often used as an eco-friendly ingredient to keep our skin supple, too - you only need to browse the internet for a second to find hundreds of honey-based f a c e m a s k s , b o d y s c r u b s , and hair treatments. In fact, honey has been known as a precious gift of nature since the neolithic e r a a n d t h e t i m e s o f o u r hunter-gatherer ancestors, as demonstrated by a cave painting found near Valen- cia (Spain) that shows a man c o l l e c t i n g h o n e y f r o m a comb. Archaeologists and historians tell us that the a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n s w e r e among the first, along with the people of Mesopotamia and the Middle East, to use honey, both as an ointment to reduce the risks of infec- tion and help wounds cica- trize, and as food. Also the Celts and the Etruscans knew about honey's thera- peutic characteristics, but it was the Greeks who creat- ed what we call today apicul- ture: Aristotle was the first to study bees and the way they reproduce. In Rome, Pliny the Elder described bees' behavior, but it was Virgil to pen the earliest treatise on apiculture: our f i r s t n a t i o n a l p o e t w a s a f o n d b e e k e e p e r a n d d i s - cussed his passion at length in the Georgics, where he explained the way a beehive is organized, as well as the flowers bees preferred. Just l i k e t h e E g y p t i a n s , t h e R o m a n s u s e d h o n e y a s nutrition and as medicine. We should also remember it was an important substance to preserve foodstuffs and lengthen their shelf life; in Rome, it was also added to w i n e t o m a k e i t s w e e t e r . During the Middle Ages, beekeeping had a boom in Italy, thanks to the arrival in the country of bees from the East, that produced more honey than our local species and, in the Renaissance, it became a profession. I n I t a l y , h o n e y i s a n i m p o r t a n t i n g r e d i e n t i n many traditional recipes: we find it in torrone, strufoli, cartellate, and many vari- eties of cookies and cakes. Plus, you'll find many an Italian smiling at the sug- gestion of having a slice of bread with butter and honey on it, a traditional and ubiq- uitous merenda Italian chil- d r e n e n j o y e d s i n c e t i m e immemorable. But honey, in our coun- try, is more than a beloved i n g r e d i e n t t h a t m a k e s u s think of childhood, it is a true excellence. Italy holds t h e w o r l d r e c o r d f o r t h e variety of kinds of honey available: we produce more than 60. We are the fourth honey-producing country in the EU, with almost 1.5 mil- lion beehives and a yearly p r o d u c t i o n t h a t r e a c h e d 23,000 tons in 2018 even though, because of climate i s s u e s , p r o d u c t i o n h a s almost halved since then, r e a c h i n g a r o u n d 1 3 , 0 0 0 tons in 2022. Honey is made everywhere in the country, from North to South, with P i e m o n t e , T u s c a n y , a n d Emilia Romagna being the highest-producing regions. The importance of honey production in Italy is well e x p l a i n e d b y R a f f a e l e Cirone, president of FAI, the association of Italian beekeepers: "Thanks to the multifaceted nature of its territory and environment, Italy is the only country in the world where honey pro- duction is characterized by the use of 40 to 50 different f l o w e r s , w h i c h m a k e s u s truly unique in the world when it comes to honey's variety and quality." T h a n k s t o t h e n a t u r a l wealth of its national flora, Italy counts about 50 sin- gle-flower honey varieties, t h a t i s , h o n e y p r o d u c e d with only one type of flower. Then, we have a myriad of m i l l e f i o r i ( w i l d f l o w e r ) honey. Single-flower honey can be produced only when that specific flower is pre- sent in abundance and in large areas of the territory. When it comes to quality, it is difficult to pick a winner, b e c a u s e t h e y a l l a r e : i t ' s more a matter of taste. Usu- a l l y l i g h t e r h o n e y w i t h a mild taste such as acacia's is liked by everyone. Florals, both mellow like rhododen- dron, and intense, like cit- rus fruits, are also generally l o v e d b y a l l . S t r o n g e r honey, such as chestnut or strawberry tree, is more of a niche product but, usually, people who like these vari- eties would never change them for any other variety. P e r s o n a l l y , I a m a f a n o f chestnut honey, so dark and fragrant, but I understand it may not be everyone's cup of tea. W i l d f l o w e r h o n e y , which we call in Italy mille- fiori, is a honey produced with more than one type of nectar, reason for which it cannot be defined as single- flower. But don't be fooled, because wildflower honey is p r e t t y s p e c i a l , t o o , a s i t changes depending on the varieties of flowers present in the area. This means that millefiori changes from area to area and also, often, from year to year, in a way simi- lar to what we see in wine. Honey is a historical and agricultural patrimony to protect, just like the bees that produce it. Unfortu- nately, most of the honey we find on our supermar- kets' shelves is a mix of for- eign honey with only small p e r c e n t a g e s o f o u r o w n : w h i l e t h e s e p r o d u c t s a r e c e r t a i n l y c o n v e n i e n t a n d practical, it may be worth investing a tad more and g o i n g f o r o u r n a t i o n a l honey instead. This way we can enjoy a true taste of our territory, and be sure of the q u a l i t y o f w h a t w e e a t . Among Italy's most popular a n d t r a d i t i o n a l t y p e s o f h o n e y , t h e a l r e a d y m e n - tioned acacia and wildflow- e r s - i n a l l i t s v a r i e t i e s - then chestnut, citrus fruits, l a v e n d e r ( i n S a r d i n i a ) , eucalyptus, rosemary, alfal- f a ( e s p e c i a l l y i n P i a n u r a Padana) and thyme (in Sici- ly). Honey: another Italian excellence CHIARA D'ALESSIO Wildflower honey is made with nectar from a variety of flowers (Photo: Marco Guidi/Dreamstime)

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