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Recipe

around the honey

The Honey of the Cevennes is part, with the chestnut, of the great specialities of the territory. Thanks to the honey house at the “Grenier aux abeilles”, we will discover the Honey of the Cevennes as well as a recipe of apples caramelized with honey.

Meeting with a beekeeper

Near Alès, on the commune of Méjannes-les-Alès, Le Grenier aux abeilles is a family honey factory gathering beekeepers since several generations. Thus, we find all the products from the hive such as Royal Jelly, pollen, propolis, wax… The transformation from harvesting to putting in jars is going to be done on site which allows to avoid thermal shocks that could alter the quality. All the jars are kept at a constant temperature in order to preserve their properties and their creamy side.

The largest part of the production will come from the Gard but the hives are also moved to Lozère or Ardèche in order to have a wider choice of honeys (mountain, forest, lavender…)

This “Cévennes honey” is therefore produced by melliferous bees (raised in hives or wild), from the nectar of flowers, or secretions from plants, or found on them (honeydew). It is therefore going to be harvested in summer in an area that includes part of Gard, Lozere, Ardeche and Aveyron. It is this Mediterranean mountain climate with its specific flora that is the origin of its delicate taste.

Did you know that?

Honey from the Cevennes

From a historical point of view, it should be known that honey was already consumed by man since prehistoric times and the latter will learn over time to perfect its extraction. The Egyptians, for their part, were already using honey to heal, beautify the skin and embalm the dead…

In the Cevennes, honey was for a very long time the only source of sugar in the Cevennes households. The traditional production of Cévennes Honey was made from hives dug directly into the trunks of chestnut trees. These trunk-hives, closed by lauze stones (bruscs), are now part of the local heritage. The flavor and color of the honey will depend on the flowers foraged.

To enhance their specificity and allow the consumer to know the dominant character of polyfloral honeys, beekeepers must indicate their origin whether it is the area of production, the flora or the season in which it is harvested. We will thus speak of honey from the Cevennes, honey from Lozere, lavender honey or spring honey…

Honey from the Cevennes has been labeled with a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) in 2015. This allows, in addition to a guarantee of quality, to be able to guarantee the geographical origin and traceability of the honeys.

The recipe

Cevennes honey caramelized apples.

 

For 4 people:

 

Ingredients:

4 apples, 4 tablespoons of IGP honey from the Cevennes, 60 gr of butter, 50 cl of water

 

  • Peel the apples and remove the cores with an apple corer.
  • In an ovenproof dish, arrange the apples.
  • Place a piece of butter inside each apple.
  • Drizzle honey from the Cevennes over each apple.
  • Sprinkle with water.
  • There should be about 1 cm of water, at the bottom of the dish.
  • Place in the oven and bake for about 30 min at 200°.
  • Watch for caramelization and cooking.
  • Take out of the oven when the apples are golden brown…
  • Let cool

 

Suggestion:Eat with a scoop of vanilla ice cream

 

Good appetite!

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