Marmaris Pine Honey

Pine honey - çam balı - is a honeydew honey, which means the bees do not collect nectar from flowers at all. A scale insect, Marchalina hellenica, feeds on the sap of Turkish red pine and excretes a sugary secretion onto the bark; the bees gather that. The result is dark, thick, resinous and much less sweet than flower honey, with a mineral edge, and it does not crystallise readily. The great majority of the world's supply comes from this corner of Turkey - Muğla province and particularly the pine forests around Marmaris - because the insect, the tree and the climate coincide here. The dependence is also the vulnerability: forest fires, and the 2021 fires in particular, destroyed large areas of the producing forest, and recovery takes decades since the trees must mature before the insect returns. Beekeepers sell direct at roadside stands and markets, and buying from them is the way to be sure of what you are getting.

What to look for

• The pine forests - the red pine the whole system depends on.
• The hives - beekeepers' boxes among the trees.
• The dark honey - thick, resinous and slow to crystallise.
• The roadside stands - producers selling direct.

When to go

Harvest runs roughly September to November, when producers are extracting. Honey is sold year-round at markets and roadside stands.

Good to know

Genuine pine honey is expensive and widely adulterated - buy from producers or reputable shops, and be suspicious of cheap jars. Supply has been hit hard by forest fires, and prices reflect it.

Nearby

Bozburun and the Marmaris peninsulas are the producing country; Datça is west.