Carob honey from the island of Crete has a dark red colour, a thick consistency and a sweet and intense taste with a final note of bitterness.
The carob is a spontaneous plant of the eastern Mediterranean basin, which over time has also become widespread in Morocco and Spain. It is a tree that has been known and cultivated since ancient times: in fact, the Greek botanist and philosopher Theophrastus reports that the Ionians called the carob tree “cernia”, while the fruit was called “Egyptian fig”.
Bees collect pollen from carob trees between September and October. The production of honey, by small-scale beekeepers, in particular in the ancient municipality of Lappa, is limited due to the small amount of carob trees that are currently present on the island of Crete. In addition, there is a product on the market that is easier to make that is obtained from the combination of various types of honey and carob syrup which is often confused with the original carob honey.
Carob honey is consumed all year round on its own, as an ingredient in desserts and dry pastries, as an accompaniment to gruyère and dried fruit. It has antibacterial and antimicrobial properties and is used to relieve anxiety, insomnia, indigestion, hypertension and upper respiratory diseases.