On a beautiful Sunday afternoon in autumn we visited Signor Biondi, a lovely local man who makes the most beautiful honey. It is pure with no additives. He proudly showed us his bee hives. When one our party expressed fear of the bees, he told us that if we let them get on with their honey making, they will leave us alone.
The Hives
Signor Biondi has won many awards for his honey and showed us an award he had won in 1986. He still has one of the bottles of honey from that year.
The National Award
The 1986 bottle of honey
Signor Biondi has his honey “farm” in Pascoli, a small town in the Garfagnana. He makes two types of honey, a light coloured Acacia honey and a stronger and darker honey from the Chesnut flowers. I preferred the honey from the Acacia as it was more delicate in flavour.
A lot of the honey that is available on the supermarket shelves is diluted with water and often has added chemicals. If you tip a bottle of honey on its side, and the bubble travels slowly, this shows that the honey is pure, if on the other hand, the bubble dashes along the bottle, then it is not.
Acacia Honey
Chestnut Honey
Bees wax - after the honey has been extracted
Signor Biondi filling up a jar