Currently many plant and animal species of the European countryside are in danger of extinction.
The good Mugello honey has been little impacted by the still clean environment that characterizes it.
However, the environmental balance is of fundamental importance for our territory.
The danger is due to the use of pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers and intensive production methods. Many plants were killed directly by these chemical agents. Others were no longer able to reproduce because the insects that carried their pollen died.
In fact, the fields have become very inhospitable environments for wild insects. The role of bees has therefore become increasingly important. In fact bees ensure pollination, allowing plants and flowers to reproduce.
Bees and environmental balance
Insects really play an almost irreplaceable role in nature.
Why?
Because without them, pollination of flowers and plants would cease. This is a process for which bees are responsible for up to 70%.
Have you ever wondered what the world would be like without bees? What would happen if the bees decided not to collect more nectar to make honey?
Many flowers would disappear immediately, no more apples or strawberries, melons, carrots etc. And then pollen crossings between distant plants would be reduced, with very serious consequences for all nature, including man. Let’s remember: bees are a real “thermometer” for the health of the earth! When they feel bad and change their behavior and habits, the environment is really polluted and we too have to worry!
Eeach bee doing its job contributes to keeping a hive alive. The hives guarantee pollination even over long distances and allow flowers and plants to produce better fruit. Biodiversity and the natural balance of the environment are therefore preserved by a long chain of small actions. Man can influence this balance in a positive or negative way. The exaggerated exploitation of the earth’s natural resources and pollution affect the health of our planet.
Good Mugello honey
The production of honey in Italy has undoubtedly dropped in recent years for the reasons set out above. It should also be noted that the consumption of honey in Italy is still more than 30% below the European average. However, the figures for good Mugello honey are definitely in contrast. First of all it must be said that the most common honey varieties in Mugello are the following:
Acacia Honey: rather liquid, with a light yellow color, almost transparent; it has a very delicate sweet taste and a very fine and persistent perfume. Remember the scent of flowers and vanilla.
Chestnut Honey: the presence of many chestnut groves (including the precious Mugello IGP chestnut) favors the production of chestnut honey. This has a rather liquid consistency and is more or less dark brown-amber, bright. This honey is not excessively sweet with a more or less bitter aftertaste. It also boiasts an intense and aromatic scent of wood. Like all dark honeys it is particularly rich in mineral salts.
Millefiori honey: it comes from many floral species and embodies the merits of the nectars from which it derives. It has a fluid and grainy consistency and a sweetish taste with a slightly bitter aftertaste. Its colour varies from greenish-yellow to blue-brown.
The recent increase in holiday farms and organic farms has also led to an increase in the variety of good Mugello honey.
Furthermore the introduction of new crops such as rapeseed and sunflower has further increased the supply of good Mugello honey
Rapeseed honey Thanks to its “vegetable” flavor, can give a surprising touch to savory cooking preparations. Sunflower honey is extremely sweet, light and delicate. For these characteristics it is indicated as a sweetener in teas and herbal teas. It is a honey particularly suitable for preparing excellent artisan desserts instead of the common sugar.
As just mentioned, however, these varieties can be found directly in farmhouses or farms. Another rare type of good Mugello honey is strawberry tree honey. Even more rarely, linden, cherry and heather honey can be found.