We're running out of bees!
Honey is one of the oldest foods in the world , and its properties were already used by ancient Egyptian doctors to cure various diseases. The art of beekeeping and its science has been passed down from generation to generation. , placing our country on the map of the best honeys in the world.
2019 the most expensive honey in Europe has been brought to Spain and has given a considerable boost to Leonese honeys. But ** the Alcarria , architect of the first Designation of Origin for honey recognized by the European Union **, has given us the lavender honey that has conquered the most demanding palates around the world.
The best lavender honey in the world comes from La Alcarria
YEAR OF HONEY, YEAR OF GOODS
The most expensive honey in Europe this year has fallen on a honey that is made in El Bierzo by the Cooperativa Apícola del Bierzo and which they have called "1005". The one-kilo jar of 1005 honey raises its price to 150 euros, which in turn makes it the second most expensive honey in the world.
Just honeys from Yemen, Israel and Turkey they are above honey 1005 as far as price is concerned. This is justified by the more than 7,000 kilometers that bees travel to pollinate more than a million flowers. And even if it seems a lie, stocks a couple of weeks ago that have run out for this season.
But far from these ostentation we have moved to The Alcarria to discover what has become the best lavender honey in the world. We are facing a fantastic year for Spanish honeys, located at the top of the international rankings.
It is necessary to encourage love for beekeeping
THE LOVE STORY BETWEEN LA ALCARRIA AND ITS LAVENDER
The locality of Cifuentes It is located in the heart of La Alcarria and it is the place where ** Nectarius has been produced, the lavender honey that has been considered this year by the Great Taste of London as the best in the world** in that category.
The fields of La Alcarria smell rosemary, lavender, thyme and lavender, and we have gone to ** Alcarria Esencial Nature **, the company that has achieved the miracle, in the vicinity of the Alto Tajo Natural Park.
There he receives us Javier Marigil , who at 59 years of age claims to continue to be an entrepreneur and is not lacking in desire, even more so when the award has come as a bit of a surprise. At just 5 years old, he has already received several awards, although he has had a fondness for bees since he was a child.
Nectarius, the best lavender honey in the world
“It is with great humility that we are still amazed and we are extremely grateful for this distinction, grateful to see how this product in which we have always believed is recognized inside and outside our borders. Also amazed to verify our intuition to work with the greatest care and ecological respect in this wonderful microclimate and confident that our Alcarreña land and its bees would be capable of the best” indicates the beekeeper.
Javier explains that above all Nectarius is a signature honey, because it meets the criteria of being a product that rescues the original flavor that Javier Marigil remembers from the honey from his childhood, from the traditional use of his ancestors for being a traditionally honey-producing area, but with the added value of extracting varietal honeys of exquisite quality and flavor, verified thanks to the quality control and traceability techniques that allow presenting a raw and unfiltered product, honest and with an image according to the quality and honor it deserves . Obtaining technically proven varietal honeys offers this beekeeper his personal stamp.
And it is that the best lavender honey in the world is obtained selecting a lot the blooms, controlling the extraction times and with an exquisite handling of the product obtained.
Only in this way is it possible for honeys like this to be so recognized. The bees and the Alcarria area do the rest, and our friend attests to that.
Cifuentes, in the heart of La Alcarria
ALERT: WE ARE OUT OF BEES
That we are left without bees, it is a fact. Javier attributes the problem in part to pesticides but also to society in general, because it does not change its consumption habits. Now we're obsessed with plastic food wrap, but we do not worry about the chemicals that are inside and it is what we eat.
"In our case we have to look for places where the crops are testimonial to avoid agricultural pesticides, and that is always a long way off, and its translation is a lot of time and extra work” he tells us.
On the other hand, Javier points out as the second cause of the problem climate change , which is already a fact. We have crazy weather blooms change times throughout the year and droughts are a real threat , with the consequent loss of resources for bees and therefore honey production.
"They have no nectar to eat and they breed very little, diseases, and especially the varroa parasite in our area and the Asian bee in the north of Spain, are fed by taking advantage of this weakness, ultimately causing the colonies to die and consequently decreasing the global population of bees ”he details.
The fields of La Alcarria smell of rosemary, lavender, thyme and lavender
They try to anticipate these problems and tackle them with organic treatments , but that implies many visits and that is time and extra work that makes it difficult to obtain large productions of honey.
The beekeeper assures that to take care of the bees the best thing is be truly sustainable and consistent , consume local products, from honest people who manage native beekeeping with a lot of heart and produce extraordinary honeys and stopping buying the sweeteners that the industry packages with the name of honey produced industrially and that can be based on syrups, and even honeys that have been found to have antibiotics and of dubious origin in their origin.
certainly necessary encourage love for beekeeping, its value for pollination and what it means , one of the objectives of this company from Alcarria that intends that more and more people see beekeeping as a profitable way of earning a living and thus establish population in rural areas.
We need to take care of our bees, Maybe it's time to realize it and do something, right?
Honey, one of the oldest foods in the world