The 5 best honeys in Spain

Floral diversity, climates and crops variety throughout our national territory, makes Spain a unique place for the production of excellent quality raw honey. In addition to our millenary tradition of Spanish beekeepers, who generation after generation have passed on their knowledge, their love for nature, the bees,etc. make our honeys the best in the world. Therefore, lovers of this natural product always have Spain as a reference point. With this in mind, we have made a fantastic selection of the 5 best honeys in Spain, among all the varieties that can be found here.

Therefore, be sure to try these honeys and always buy them of the highest quality, in order to enjoy all their properties and their true aromas.

Index of the article: Best Honey in Spain Best honey by Autonomous Community How to get the best honey The most prestigious awards Honeys with the highest amount of antioxidants How to choose the best one for you?

Summary: The best selection from the very numerous monofloral honeys produced in Spain. Honeys that stand out for their aromas, consistency and properties. A selection made from our customers and ourselves. Therefore, all of them are available in our shop in Las Rozas de Madrid.

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1.Best honeys from Spain

Firstly, we analysed so many places where honey is produced and a large number of single-flower honeys prodeced thera. After that, we have selected the following honeys. All of these are Spanish can vary their aroma and consistency will each year, but they have always have similar characteristics.

a) Rosemary honey, one of the best honeys of Spain

Rosemary honey is the most demanded spanish mono-floral honey, especially by children and for people who are looking for fine and smooth flavors. A smooth and very pleasant honey that is ideal to sweeten any dish or dessert.

This raw rosemary honey is usually one of the first to crystallise, as it has a high glucose content. Once crystallised and if it does not have any remaining honeydew, it can take on a completely white colour.

Rosemary is found in spanish areas with a Mediterranean and continental climate, therefore the whole of the central, southern and eastern areas. Consequently, it can be found in eastern and southern Spain.

Photo 1: Rosemary honey of the brand Apícola Moreno

b) Heather honey

Heather honey is another honey highly coveted for its health properties. Especially by older people who have or want to avoid prostate problems (information indicated by our customers who buy this honey).

Likewise, heather honey is less sweet than many of the other different varieties of honey. Also, this honey has a unique toasted malt aroma. Therefore, a delicious honey that everyone should have in home. It is also dark as it is rich in minerals. It takes also a long time to crystallise. Furthermore, its crystallisation is fine and it always takes on a brown ochre colour.

Heather honey is obtained in the mountainous areas of Spain, mainly in the north. Within heather honey, we have calluna honey, which is a type of heather.

Photo 2: Heather honey of the brand Apícola Moreno

c) Eucalyptus honey

Eucalyptus honey is also highly desired to help cure sore throats, open nasal passages and constipation. All honeys are effective for these ailments. However, eucalyptus honey is the most effective of them, bacause it combines the properties of honey with those of eucalyptol, a component released by the eucalyptus flower.

Also, this honey has the typical eucalyptus aroma. Furthermore, it has a dark colour and when it crystallises it tends to have a brown colour that we can see below. In summary, a delicious honey that everyone should try.

It is therefore a very popular honey in Spain, especially during the cold season.

Mainly, eucalyptus honey is obtained from the large eucalyptus plantations in the north of Spain. Therefore, the vast majority of these honeys come from the north of Spain.

Photo 3. Eucalyptus honey of the brand Apícola Moreno

d) Thyme honey:

The fourth position is occupied by thyme honey. The main reason is for its properties for our health. This honey helps to reduce blood pressure and helps to combatse fatigue. In fact, this honey according to many research documentation is the most beneficial of all, even so healthy as Manuka honey.

Furthermore, this thyme honey also stands out for its powerful aroma and flavour. Its colour is brown and it takes normaly time to crystalize.

Thyme honey is obtained throughout Spain, where the continental and Mediterranean climate dominates. Consequently, in a large part of Spain.

A summary, other outstanding honeys from Spain which everybody should try.

 

Foto 4: Miel de tomillo de la marca Apícola Moreno

e) Lavender honey

Finally, in fifth position we have the lavender honey, another one widely bought in Spain. This honey is one of the richest and healthiest honeys from here. We usually associate lavender honey with perfumes and for that reason people have become a little suspicious of it, but when you try it without knowing which flower it comes from, it is one of the most coveted.

Therefore, lavender honey is a honey with a powerful aroma characteristic of lavender. If we smell this honey, its fruity aroma reminds us of the lavender fields of Guadalajara. A honey that everyone should have at home.

Photo 5: Lavender honey from the brand Apícola Moreno

All these honeys together with many more, are available in our online store or our physical store in Las Rozas de Madrid.

In this article, the best honeys in Spain, we have selected these 5 honeys as the best, but we do not want to underestimate other honeys that are produced in Spain.

All the honeys that we sell in our online and physical shop, have passed a rigorous quality control, because we have visited the places of production, we know well the beekeepers, the places of production, their facilities and where they place their hives, assuring that they take them to areas where good agricultural practices are followed and that the bees do not feed on fields that have been fumigated.

Other honeys.

In this article, we have selected these 5 honeys as the best, but we do not want to undervalue other Spanish honeys. Many more are also very unique and have a great quality.

Furthermore, all honeys have their properties, especially the honeys that come from medicinal plants. They are more medicinal due to the nectar components that these plants provide. The 5 honeys we have mentioned come from medicinal plants, although in the shop we have some more, such as myrtle honey.

Likewise, the rest of the other honeys are also very beneficial and depending on the taste of each one,. They will like more or less, it depends on your taste. So we encourage you to try them in our shop in Las Rozas de Madrid. Also, in this way you can take care of your health with these products provided by nature.

This selection has only been made with honeys that are produced in Spain, as there are other honeys such as manuka honey that are in great demand and are considered the best in the world.

In short, if a honey is of high quality, it is the best honey you can buy.

2. Best honey by regions

We have also selected the most characteristic honeys from various regions of Spain. Areas of Spain which, due to their climate, flora and tradition, produce honeys that stand out for their quality. Among these areas of Spain, we have selected the following:

a) Best Madrid honey

In Madrid a large quantity of honey is produced. Among them we have the cantueso honey, rosemary, thyme and madroño. Among all of them, the most characteristic of this area is thyme. Likewise, in Madrid we have a large number of beekeepers. Of all of them we are currently working with:

• Antonio Simón: This beekeeper produces ecological honeys from a wide variety of flowers. Honey from heather, lavender, chestnut, strawberry tree, rosemary, thyme

We have selected this beekeeper, but maybe we will add  honey from for others from Madrid.

Photo 6: Gift basket with honeys from Madrid and Guadalajara

b) Best Honey in Asturias

In Asturias, due to its altitude and rainy weather, the most characteristic honey is heather and calluna honey. The calluna is a variety of heather. We do not currently work with any beekeepers in this area. However, we are looking for honest beekeepers from here. We hope to find one beekeeper from ther soon.

c) Best honey in Galicia

In Galicia we also have a large quantity of honeys, but the most outstanding here is chestnut and heather honey. Although fundamentally, the chestnut honey.

d) Best honey in Andalusia

In Andalusia we also have a many types of honeys. Although Andalusia is very wide, we bring from here spectacular orange blossom, strawberry tree and rosemary honeys. We are currently working with two beekeepers in Andalusia:

• Rancho Cortesano: A beekeeper from Jerez, in Cadiz. This beekeeper provides us with orange, chestnut, strawberry, oak, rosemary and thyme honeys.
• Montoro Honey: A beekeeper located in Montoro, in Cordoba. He places many of his hives in the Andujar Natural Park. He also provides them with myrtle, matalauva and lavender honey.
  We will also be bringing in honeys from Almeria in the near future.

e) Best thousand of Zamora

Among the best honeys of Zamora, we have our beekeeper from Las Obreras de Aliste. Honeys that are highly recognised both in Spain and abroad.

3. How to get the best honey

Not all honeys are the same, even among raw honeys, without comparing adulterated honeys with quality raw honey.

Amongst raw honeys, a great honey requires more effort and more knowledge. Therefore, in order to get a different and spectacular honey, one must look very carefully where to place the combs, leave a complete operculation of the comb and that the bees are completely healthy. It will also depend on the climate of the year, but this is more of a luck factor, as this is something that we cannot control.

Photo 7: Thousand-flower honey from La Alcarria

4. Most prestigious awards

Among the most prestigious international competitions on honey, we have the following:

a) London Honey Awards, in the United Kingdom

This is usually done in the spring in the UK. Here they select the best honey with a blind tasting.

Contact: http://www.londonhoneyawards.com/

b) Great Taste Awards, United Kingdom

Another competition that is also held in the United Kingdom. In this case, the honey is presented along with hundreds of other food products.

Contact: https://greattasteawards.co.uk/

c) Apimondia World Beekeeping Awards

This other international jury takes place in Turkey. In addition to honey, mead is also presented.

These are the most important international awards in the world. However, in Spain there are also many prizes, national, provincial and regional. All of them, make known and reward the best honeys.

5. Honeys with the highest amount of antioxidants

According to researcher Stefan Bogdanov, 2017, the best honeys with the highest amount of antioxidants are the following:

1. Buckwheat honey
2. Astragalus sinicus honey
3. Heather honey
4. Propolis
5. Manuka Honey
6. The strawberry tree honey
7. Chestnut honey
8. Carob honey

Of the eight, we have six in the shop, although the first one was sometimes brought from Poland.

6. How to choose the best for you? Tips to choose one

Experts choose the best honeys according to a highly trained palate. However, this does not have to completely match your taste. When choosing the best honey for you, you should consider the following points:

1. Darker or lighter honeys, depends on what are you looking for. Lighter honeys for milder flavours and darker honeys for stronger flavours.
2. The state of the honey, liquid or crystallised. For this you will have to take into account the specific characteristics of each variety. For example, dark honeys such as heather and holm oak take longer to crystallise, and rosemary honey crystalizes soon.
3. The beekeeper should give you confidence. You can talk to the seller or the beekeeper himself in order to know who produce your honey.
4. You also have to see what you are going to use the honey for. If it is for a special dish, for toast, yoghurt, etc.

Source:

The english newspaper The Guardian. Love you, honey

Best honeys of Europe.