Lipchius honey - the honey of autumn flowers

What makes honeydew honey special?

Honeydew honey, forest honey, heather honey - it all fits into the autumn blossom honey, the last honey harvest in Lithuania. It is one of the darkest honeys, sometimes resembling caramel in appearance, texture and taste.

In autumn, the number of flowers decreases, so the bees collect this honey only from the sap of the latest flowering forest plants and trees. Where do bees get this sap? They get help from various beetles, mainly aphids. The aphids break down the integrity of the plant and the honeydew - the plant's sap - oozes to the surface. This honeydew is collected by the bees and stored in the hive to produce honeydew honey, and since it is collected in the forest, it is also forest honey.

If you are lucky enough to find a field of heather and put bees in it, the forest honey will be more heather honey. It is almost impossible to get the kind of honey from autumn flowers, because at this time of year nectar and honeydew are not very abundant, and bees, even if they are located next to a plant of one kind or another, will still search for nectar within a radius of several kilometres.

This honey is dark brown, like real caramel. Although similar in colour to buckwheat honey, it is much milder in taste. It has subtle notes of forest plants, but the taste is not very pronounced. This is why this honey is suitable for those who are not particularly fond of honey.

Let the sweet taste not deceive. Depending on the plants from which it is collected, honey from Lipchus has a wide range of health-giving properties. In folk medicine, it is used not only to relieve the symptoms of colds, but also to support the digestive and other organ systems.

The place of collection of this honey, like any other, is a key indicator of the honey's beneficial properties. Maybe it was collected in the hills? Or perhaps in an undergrowth with herbs of one kind or another? Is the forest full of maple and birch trees? Or perhaps lime, aspen, rowan? The honeydew contains many of the plant's beneficial substances, which are then passed on to the honey, and through it to us.

Enjoy this honey on its own or as a garnish in coffee, tea and other dishes.

Store in a cool, dark place.

Let real, Lithuanian honey travel from family to family, and the warmth it contains - iš heart to heart!

The scientific source we used:

• Hewlings, S. J., & Kalman, D. S. (2017). Curcumin: A Review of Its Effects on Human Health. Foods (Basel, Switzerland), 6(10), 92. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods6100092