We laid off sugar a few years back and have been very happy about the switch to honey. Local honey in Puerto Vallarta can be purchased on the streets and we often buy from the same grumpy old man who caters to those walking up and down Basilio Badillo. When we run out of our favorite sweetener and can’t find The Honey Man, we purchase local honey, available at the produce markets.
To the surprise of many, honey is a huge export for Mexico. Crops from hives produce somewhere around 55,000 tons a year and Mexico is sixth in line of honey producing nations, shipping out at least half of their yield each year. The national consumption of honey is on the rise and we aren’t sure if this is due to sweets becoming more popular of a simple desire for the taste of honey. However we can report that foods that were once processed with abundant amounts of sugar, such as dry cereal, pastries, yoghurt, for example, are now made with honey. With nearly 50,000 registered beekeepers throughout Mexico, mostly in the southeast, there is an impressive production of both conventional and organic honey.
Bees, of course, do much more than make honey, a fact we often ignore or forget. The pollination of plants is a major industry and in a delicate ecological system, we depend on bees for our survival. The introduction of African bees, which were coaxed up from Brazil, was regarded as a major quandary in the ‘80’s. The Africanized bees were referred to as killer bees and considered too aggressive and it was thought they might destroy the native, honey producing melliponine bee. In the past few decades, the melliponine bee, which was doomed to extinction, has been reduced in population but there is evidence of both bees producing at even higher than expected rates.
Honey is used in Mexican kitchens for both sweet and savory dishes and in Puerto Vallarta, you will find several varieties. Avocado honey is the darkest in color and has a smooth, almost buttery flavor. Honey made from citrus blossoms is lighter in color and
taste. Mesquite honey is very light and often has hints of lavender, sage and thyme. There are dozens of flavors.
Mayans worshiped bees and considered beekeeping a sacred occupation. The melliponine was native to the Yucatan tropics, a stingless, honey producing bee, and was considered a link to the spirit world, gifted to the Maya by Ah Muzen Cab, the bee god. With over five hundred species, this was a busy bee world and so important to the Mayans, they devoted an entire book to them. The Madrid Codex, one of the four surviving Mayan books, is all about the bees and the business of making honey.
Que es cómo es.
Thanks to our guest blogger Adam Garcia for this article!
Do You Want To Live The Ultimate Villa Experience? Thinking Of Renting a Puerto Vallarta Luxury Vacation Villa or Condo? Let Our Beston Properties Team Find You The Perfect Luxury Vacation Villa Rental in Puerto Vallarta or Riviera Nayarit, Mexico. Try Our ‘Perfect Villa Finder’ Tool Here.
For more information about Puerto Vallarta, Mexico or a Villa for rent contact Beston Properties offers the finest Luxury Villa Vacation Rental Accommodations in the Puerto Vallarta and Punta Mita area. Our private rental homes and Condos offer a full range of services from a full staff including chef and a concierge to organize any tours, spa services in the home or Car Rental. We have offices located in Puerto Vallarta and have all the local information from Vallarta weather and maps. All of their agents are personally familiar with each of the accommodations, amenities and staff to help you find the best rental property in Puerto Vallarta. Our concierge services will be happy to give you information on the best restaurants for dining out in Puerto Vallarta we can make reservations and give you directions. We have all the most current information to guide you for your holiday in Puerto Vallarta from our daily weather report to maps and directions.. WE can arrange activities with any tour company including Vallarta Adventures, one of the most popular companies in Banderas Bay. We represent the best quality of homes for rent by owners who care about your comfort and hope you return for many years of unforgettable Mexican holidays. For more information check out our luxury accommodations.
Check out some of our Puerto Vallarta Luxury Vacation Villas here:
[su_posts template=”templates/teaser-loop.php” posts_per_page=”3″ post_type=”listing” taxonomy=”type” tax_term=”28″ tax_operator=”0″ order=”desc” orderby=”none”]
