Bazar del Miele, Orange Blossom Honey

Down a dusty little side street in a dusty part of town is a hidden treasure of a shop that sells only honeys.  Beekeeper Vultaggio Agnese is a little bee of a man, compact and busy, more interested in his hives and their occupants than in the company of other people.  Shy, yet full of knowledge about all aspects of apiculture, he stressed that the most important aspect of his job is taking care of the bee families.  As Sicily has a very dry climate, there are fewer agricultural pesticides used than in rainier areas where chemicals must be frequently reapplied.  This is good for the sensitive bees, which have not seen the decline in their populations that other colonies have experienced in recent years.

To collect his “La Nonna” brand honeys he uses a centrifuge.  No heat is used in the extraction process; instead, the raw honey retains the enzymes and trace amounts of nutrients that nourish bees and humans alike.  Agnese’s six hundred hives of bees feed on the plants and flowers within three kilometers of their hives, and vary their pollen collection based on what is blooming in the area.  The varieties of honey they produce are striking, each tasting wildly different from the others and distinctly like the plants they’ve been pollinating.  His Orange Blossom honey tastes of oranges and flowers and the hot Sicilian sun, ideal for sweetening your breakfast tea and toast.

Size: 250g