Honey - Bosnia and Herzegovina
Herzegovina honey is well-known in the entire Balkan region thanks to its taste and the unpolluted pastures where bees gather their nectar. Historically, it is commercialized in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as in neighbouring Serbia and Montenegro.There is no standard type of field honey because of different production methods applied by many beekeepers. This honey is produced within a small, geographically limited area, including the rocky mountains and hills of Trebinje region, the fields of Ljubinje and Dubrovnik as well as the area along the border with Montenegro. Usually, it is dark or dark yellow in colour and sometimes it can crystallize after a couple of months. Its characteristic flavour is due to the presence of a plant called Salvia officinalis. It is important to add that there are 3700 plant species in Bosnia and Herzegovina which represents more than a half of known species in the entire Balkan region.Honey is a product of honey-bees' salivary glands where the foraged aliments (nectar) are turned into usable reserves for the families, which is stored in the upper parts of the honey comb. In the presence of abundant flower full of nectar, bees try to accumulate huge quantities of honey, which would be consumed during the cold winter time, and especially in spring to nourish the family. Honey is stored in cells and given a proper degree of juiciness (normally 18-20%), and then the cells are wax sealed. The beekeeper may remove a certain quantity of the honey stock provided that enough is left for the bee family. As honey is a sugar based food, it self-conserves, provided it is not exposed to humidity since water can accelerate fermentation. Cold extraction and filtration are the only operations required in order to put honey on the table as an absolutely natural food item.There were two traditional hive types in this region: hollow trees and trnke vrš?are. Trnke vrš?are are made from straw, branches and wild vine leaves which are covered with cow dung. Even today it is possible to come across some of these traditional hives in mountain areas. Unregulated use of dangerous pesticides threatens the bee population. Bee pastures are at great risk of fire and summer droughts. Herzegovina every summer interventions large fires and droughts that are threatening to destroy plants. It takes 3-5 years to restoring the wild the plants such as sage and other plants. Large increase of imported, industrial honey at the BiH market (shops, markets, restaurants, hotels, etc). Production of artificial honey from various of syrup and sugar.