What is Fir honeydew?
It is honey with delicious taste, dark color and unique scent. It features plenty of minerals and trace elements. It contains a minimal amount of pollen that makes it suitable for allergy sufferers.
What makes this honey unique?
Honeydew does not come from the nectar like other types of honey. It is made from fresh sweet juice byproduct produced by aphids (Cinara Pectinatae) living in large colonies on the fir trees. Aphids consume sap and produce sweet secretions. The secretions are collected and then processed by bees. The final product is honey with exceptional properties.
Why is this honey so rare?
The production of honey of the highest quality is irregular and depends on many factors. Čergov Mountains consists of many older fir trees that are ideal for the development of Aphids. Very important role have weather conditions, which are in Čergov Mountains unstable in recent years. Due to this weather changes the byproduct of Aphids can be washed from the surface of Fir trees before it is collected by the bees. On rainy years there is very little or no production of honeydew.
Why it is used for medical purposes?
Resent research from the Institute of Zoology Slovak Academy of Sciences, has proved that the antibacterial activity of this honey is much higher than New Zealand’s Manuka honey (UMF 15+). It inhibits the growth of multi-resistant bacteria like Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, and chronic wound pathogens.