Autor: Iibarvo
Chihuahua, Chih.
During one of my searches for artisanal products from Chihuahua, I ventured to the outskirts of the city in search of honey. I came across a person selling "honey" under a makeshift tarp by the side of the road, standing behind a pickup truck. Alongside the "honey," they also had products like walnuts, apples, and pine nuts for sale. I bought a jar that had a piece of honeycomb inside—that was what caught my attention. When I got home, I read the label and found it odd that the ingredients listed were sugar and corn syrup. When I tasted it, it reminded me a lot of cotton candy.
After this bad experience with "adulterated" honey, a few months later, I went searching for the product again—only to have the same unfortunate experience with the labeling. The jar had illustrations of hexagons and a happy bee, but it still said "corn syrup."
In October 2021, I learned about a project called "Apiarios Del Cielo" ("Sky Apiaries"), run by Laura M. Quiñones and Raúl Chacón Venzor, both beekeepers. One day, while talking with Raúl, he explained some aspects of honey and other hive products to me. My first impression of him was that he was deeply passionate about his craft and committed to sharing his knowledge openly. That day, we spent nearly two hours talking about his work, plants, and projects—jumping from one topic to another—with breaks where he let me taste different seasonal honeys or showed me other hive-derived products. I had only gone there for a jar of honey, but I left with so much more.
One thing that really stood out to me in our later conversations was the variety of honey colors—yes, honey isn’t monochromatic! I learned that beekeepers can harvest honey with distinct colors depending on its floral source and mineral content. The higher the mineral content, the darker the honey. As for flavor, they told me that lighter honeys tend to have delicate, subtle notes, while darker ones are more intense and robust. Sometimes, they can identify every single flower the bees collected nectar from; other times, they can’t. Honey extracted from multiple flowers is called "multifloral". Beekeepers can survey the area where they set up their apiaries, sample the local vegetation, and classify their seasonal harvest accordingly.
The first samples I tried were an amber multifloral honey and a dark multifloral honey, both harvested in the same season but from different floral sources. The amber honey tasted like slightly smoky caramel, while the dark one reminded me of caramelized popcorn—though less intense than the amber. Later, I tried honeys from specific blooms: mostly sunflower, mostly catclaw acacia, and one I’ll be tasting soon—a May harvest that’s pure mesquite.
Besides producing honey from flower nectar, bees can also use secretions from other plants or certain plant-sucking insects. The resulting product is called "mielato" (honeydew). Bees usually make honeydew when there’s no flowering or during scarcity periods.
In terms of texture, the first two honeys (amber and dark) had a similar viscosity—like melted caramel. One debated characteristic is crystallization: raw, unprocessed honey crystallizes over time, and the longer it sits unused, the more solid it becomes (lighter honeys crystallize faster).
Raúl shared an interesting term with me: "miel bronca" (wild honey), which he described as honey that hasn’t been pasteurized, heated, homogenized, or filtered.
Among the thousands of bee species in the world, only one produces the majority of honey in Mexico and globally—the "Apis mellifera" bee. Raúl mentioned that they usually work with European bee strains in their hives, trying to avoid crossbreeding with Africanized bees.
Another product harvested by Apiarios Del Cielo is "propolio", a resinous paste bees make to seal hive cracks. Raúl and Laura sell it for human use due to its antibacterial, antioxidant, antiviral, and antifungal properties. In "The Art of Fermentation" by Sandor Ellix Katz, it’s mentioned that the Rarámuri people of the Sierra Tarahumara use ""propolio" to seal cracks in fermentation vessels.
"Our job is to act as bee doctors, learning from them to work in harmony."—Raúl Chacón, 2022
One of our last conversations was about swarm capture. Often, relocating swarms from houses or vacant lots isn’t practical. Bee colonies have complex natural behaviors—for example, they sometimes expel members (due to illness), forming small, doomed swarms called "jabardos", which can’t be reintegrated into beekeepers' hives.
Beekeepers face many challenges: protecting their hives, finding pesticide-free locations, and securing apiaries against theft or damage. They also battle misconceptions—like honey being only one color, darker honeys being "fake," or crystallization being a flaw.
After writing about beekeeping, I’ve reflected: Is it important to learn about honey’s nuances? I’d say yes. Today, many of us don’t know where our food comes from, and honey is no exception. Commercial brands exaggerate and overhype their products to drive consumerism—knowledge helps us be more selective and conscious. Does the effort behind honey production get enough recognition? (Time, care, study, etc.) I don’t know, but it’s always important to highlight skilled, dedicated people making a difference.
"Food is a powerful trigger of memories, and often, it’s the identity of a society."
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