ABBAMELE | APINATH HONEY - local producer and seller of Sardinian honey

Abbamele (“honey water”) – A very old traditional Sardinian food made by pressing honey combs after the honey is extracted and flavoring the reduction with fruits. Dark with a complex concentrated flavor, not too sweet, with a toasty flavor and hints of coffee and caramel is also known for its homeopathic and tonic qualities. Delicious with fresh cheese like ricotta, the grilled polenta, any Sweet and Sour recipe, to accompany desserts and ice cream.

The traditional way of extracting abbamele consists in storing honeycomb containing at least 20-30% honey, plunging it in hot water heated to around 50 °C and waiting for the water to melt all the honey inside. As soon as the water cools down slightly, the lumps of wax and pollen are broken up by hand and the wax is squeezed into small balls that are then stored. The resulting mixture is filtered at least twice through fine linen cloths and then placed in a specially designed boiler for a refining stage that lasts several hours.
During the refining stage, a small amount of finely sliced orange zest is added and any impurities that float to the surface are removed, while the honey is continually mixed so as to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the boiler, until it turns the
consistency of syrup, or honey; the boiler is left in a secluded place and left to cool down and then the syrup is poured into jars.

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