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OJ C, 11.12.2023

EN

The areas vegetation consists of Mediterranean shrubs and trees and many common Greek plants, as well as species that are endemic to Evia or to Karistia. The most extensive habitat type, as listed in Directive 92/43, is Sarcopoterium spinosum phryganas code 5420. This covers around 30 % of the defined area and heather Erica manipuliflora and Erica verticillata is one of the types of phrygana found there.
Flowering of the autumn heather begins at the higher altitudes 1 000 metres and ends in areas that are at sea level.
Clumps of heather can be found growing in different types of soil, including poor soil, which shows how valuable they are in areas that have been periodically damaged by fire or overgrazing.
The heather growing at the higher altitudes comes into bloom with the first rains that fall after midsummer. Flowering continues during the autumn months after the first rains further down in the lowlands.
In this natural environment the regions beekeepers carry out their work, perpetuating an age-old tradition. Modern beekeeping began in 1910 with Dimitrios Rigas and the Karistos Beekeepers Association is named after him.
Honey production is usually small scale to bring in extra income and the local beekeeping practices include the following:
The beehives are usually made of wood.
The beehives are moved from the high altitude areas to the lowlands to make the most of the gradual flowering of the heather so as to exploit the areas beekeeping potential to the full.
No artificial feed is given to the bees during the honey production period.
Some of the last honey the bees produce is left unharvested for the colony to feed on during the winter, so there will be strong bee populations in the spring.
Smokers are used with great care and pine needles are used as fuel. They give off a cool, mild smoke that does not alter the characteristics of the honey in any way.
The honeycomb is removed using combs, knives or brushes.
The honey is extracted from the frames by centrifuging without heating or decanting, and pressure is never applied.
During processing the temperature of the honey does not exceed 40 C at any time.
The swarms used are produced locally and are adapted to the region.
The specificity of / Meli Kissouri resides in:
The mixture of pollen grains, where rica manipuliflora pollen predominates usually accounting for between 65 %
and 90 % of total pollen and is supplemented by pollen from wild plants, and which contains no pollen from crop species. This particular pollen mixture is due to the natural environment and local beekeeping practices. In particular, the high percentage of heather pollen is the result of the abundance of heather in the defined area.
Because of the distinct geomorphological and climatic conditions, this flowers successively at different altitudes alongside many other wild plants. The beekeepers make the most of this by moving their hives all the way down the slopes of Mount Ochi from the high areas to the lowest following the heather as it comes into bloom. This ensures that there is a high percentage of heather pollen in the honey and that the pollen mixture is enriched by pollen from numerous wild species of the Fabaceae, Lamiaceae, Ephedraceae and Asteraceae families that are found on land where there are trees or shrubs and in rocky or stony areas. Moreover, given the areas distinct geomorphology and the particularly poor soil, very little land is planted with crops so there is no pollen from crop species in the pollen mixture. The pollen mixture in Meli Kissouri / Meli Kissouri, which forms as a result of the above factors, influences its organoleptic characteristics. More specifically, its characteristic colour dark with red-copper tones is due to the fact that the pollen is collected by bees in the autumn rather than in spring. It is well known that pollen grains are darker in autumn and lighter in spring. In addition, its intense aroma and taste are attributed to the high percentage of heather pollen, which contains a large number of volatile compounds.
The extremely low sucrose content. The upper limit for sucrose content is not more than 0,2 % and according to the literature this is lower than for any other Greek heather honey. This low sucrose content bears testimony to the human factor and more specifically the local beekeeping practices. One of the golden rules is to not give the bees artificial feed during the / Meli Kissouri production period, as all their dietary needs are met by the abundance of heather in bloom. In winter the bees feed on the last heather honey they made during that period, some of which is left in the hives.
ELI: http data.europa.eu/eli/C/2023/1471/oj
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