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Natural Honey

The job of an apiarist of beekeeper is a very highly regarded profession in Greece. A beekeeper will keep on average 300 to 500 hives and these will produce around 55,000 pounds (25,000 kilograms) of honey per year. Chalkidiki is one of the country's main honey-producing regions. Beekeepers come here from all over Greece, drawn by the unspoiled, hilly countryside with its wealth of flowers and abundance of pine trees, spruces, and lime trees, all guarantees of consistency in aroma and high-quality honey. Honey production is geared to the following flowers; early June, lime blossom; mid-August, chestnut blossom (helps stop the honey from solidifying); the rest of the summer, spruce blossom (spruce resin makes the honey darker and stronger in taste). The heather in bloom at the beginning of September provides the final aromatic ingredient and the bees close up their honeycombs ready for hibernation. The honey is now ready for harvest. Gently stunning the bees with smoke from burning spruce needles, the beekeeper carefully removes this precious sweet product.

		When the spring flowers are in bloom on the Chalkidiki peninsula, the bees are well catered for.
		Even the beekeeper prefers to stun the bees a little before attempting to touch the honeycombs.
		The beekeeper samples the honey straight from the honeycomb.

excerpts from: "Culinaria Greece"