Skoči na glavni sadržaj

Welcome to the site of the Tourist Board of Jelsa

Jezik en
  • hr
  • en
Odaberite jezik

Contact us: +385 (0)21 761 017

Homepage
Search
Pretraga

Main navigation

  • Guide and information
    • News
    • How to get to Jelsa
    • Useful information
    • Jelsa Tourist Board
    • Information for renters
    • Tourist Agency
  • Destinations
    • Gdinj
    • Gromin Dolac
    • Humac
    • Humac
    • Ivan Dolac
    • Jelsa
    • Šćedro Island
    • Pitve
    • Poljica
    • Svirče
    • Vrboska
    • Vrisnik
    • Zastražišće
    • Zavala
  • Events
  • Accommodation
  • Food and Drink
    • Mediterranean Cusine
    • Restaurants
    • Bars
    • Wineries
    • Olive mills
    • Local food producers
    • Souvenir shops & Island products
  • What to Enjoy
    • Sun and Sea
    • Activities
    • Curiosities
  • What to Visit
    • Suggested itineraries
    • Themed Routes
    • Cultural Heritage
Naslovna
Galerija slika

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Food and Drink
  3. Mediterranean Cusine
  4. HONEY – MEDICINE OF THE GODS
Honey

HONEY – MEDICINE OF THE GODS

Honey is a sweet substance which bees produce by collecting nectar from flowering plants, which they digest and regurgitate for storage in honeycomb cells, where it is covered with protective wax once excess water has evaporated. 

Honey has been used in the human diet since ancient times, and has always been highly prized. The oldest visual record of honey production dates to 7000 BCE, and it was called ‘the food of the gods’ in Ancient Greece. Bee-keeping on Hvar Island is known to have started a very long time ago. Archaeologists have found the remains of clay cylindrical beehives at four locations on Hvar, proving that bee-keeping was important in Roman times. Nowadays there are more than fifty small family firms registered for bee-keeping.

Honey is used in folk medicine, credited with the medicinal properties of the plants from which it has been produced. A word of warning: it is best to consult your doctor before using any substance, however natural, for medicinal purposes.

Hvar is a medicinal island, a real aromatic Mediterranean herb garden. The heady scents of rosemary, sage, lavender, and strawberry tree lift the spirits for everyone who comes to this, the warmest and sunniest island on the Adriatic, especially on its south side. The nectar collected from this wealth of medicinal plants is turned into Hvar’s specially recognizable honey.

As the possible flower sources for honey are numerous, no two honeys are identical. This variability allows the consumer a wide choice in finding the particular characteristics which please the individual. However, expert apiarists create the conditions where their bees collect nectar from particular plants and so create honey dominated by one or other specific source. From Hvar’s many medicinal plants, there are a few which are used to produce characteristic local honeys.

Hvar’s melliferous plants

Sage plants flower in April and May, providing an abundance of nectar when conditions are hot and damp. 

In June and July Hvar is permeated with the scent of lavender, the beekeepers’ favourite melliferous plant. 

Rosemary is an evergreen plant which grows to a height of two metres, and flowers from the beginning of February to the middle of April on Hvar. The little island of Šćedro is famous for its abundant rosemary, and honey which is extracted there in the spring is exclusively rosemary honey.

Common (dwarf) heather (calluna vulgaris) and tree heather (erica arborea), evergreen plants with purple or white flowers, are widespread on Hvar. Tree heather flowers in spring, common heather in September. Their melliferous capacity depends on rain during the flowering period. 

The strawberry tree flowers the latest of these melliferous plants, from October to December.

Types of Honey on Hvar Island

Honeys are differentiated according to the way they are produced and the type of flower they have come from. There are three main production methods: centrifugal extraction; melting (heating the crushed honeycombs in order to melt the protective wax); and cold-kneading, in which the caps are removed from the honeycombs, which are then spun gently to extract the honey. The honey produced from Hvar’s melliferous plants is mainly processed using the centrifugal extraction method.

Sage honey

This is our most sought-after honey. It is produced in lesser quantity than the other types, probably because sage plants flower in the spring at the same time as rosemary. Sage honey is basically light yellow and slightly greenish, but its colour varies from year to year, depending on the influence of other flowering plants nearby. It is a fine honey with a pleasant dominant taste. It stays fluid for a long time before solidifying with medium-sized crystals. It is known to have beneficial effects on the respiratory system, especially on coughs and colds.

Lavender honey 

This is a light-coloured honey of the highest quality, with a distinct aromatic scent and a gentle, soothing effect. It is said to help the uptake of calcium and iron from food and medicines, making it effective for protecting against rickets and anaemia, and is often recommended for pregnant women. It can soothe muscular cramps and headaches, and may help with flatulence, also respiratory, digestive and urinary problems. 

Rosemary honey

This is one of the finer types of honey. It has a mild but distinctive taste and is a clear light yellow colour when liquid, which turns white as it crystallizes. It is used in cases of liver problems, and helps flatulence and wind. It is said to be effective for cardiovascular problems, rheumatic conditions and gout.

Heather honey 

Heather from coastal areas is considered to have the finest flavour. Heather honey is light-coloured, opaque, and has a mild scent. It is recommended for rheumatic conditions, gout, prostate problems, and urinary problems including kidney stones and cystitis.

Strawberry tree honey

This is one of the best quality types of honey in respect of its nutritional constituents. It is extremely dense in structure and has a bitter taste, so that diabetics may be able to eat it. It is a known natural antioxidant. It is recommended for improving the blood and regulating blood pressure, and it can also help to cure urinary infections. It has a gentle effect on the respiratory system, so it is often recommended for asthmatics.

Charming places around Jelsa

Gdinj
Gromin Dolac
Humac
Ivan Dolac
Jelsa
Pitve
Poljica
Šćedro Island
Svirče
Vrboska
Vrisnik
Zastražišće
Zavala

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT BEES AND HONEY:
• All bees only produce good, healthy honey. Bad honey is the result of industrial filling methods or badly educated apiarists.
• Bees have been producing honey in the same was for at least 150 million years.
• When collecting nectar and pollen, a bee visits about 1000 flowers each day.
• The bee is the only insect in the world to produce food which humans eat too.
• Honey produced by honey-bees is one of the safest foods, as the majority of dangerous bacteria cannot survive in it.
• Honey in sealed jars was found in the Pharaoh Tutankhamun's tomb.
•
To create one kilogramme of honey, a bee has to fly 177,000 kilometres.
• The transformation of nectar to honey takes about 4-5 days.
• Honey loses its medicinal properties at temperatures greater than 40°C.


Local food producers

OPG​

više​


Olive mills

ulje​

više​

Jelsa logo

Trg Tome Gamulina 1

21465 Jelsa

Tel: +385 (0)21 761 017

Email: info@tzjelsa.hr


9°C

Today

2 m/s (3 m/s) – SE
Jelsa

 

12°C

20.01.

4 m/s (5 m/s) – SE
Jelsa

 

14°C

21.01.

6 m/s (5 m/s) – SSE
Jelsa

 

14°C

22.01.

8 m/s (6 m/s) – S
Jelsa

 

14°C

23.01.

3 m/s (3 m/s) – SW
Jelsa

 

2003. – 2021. © Tourist Board of Jelsa. Privacy Policy.

Newsletter