Common sage

Common sage (Salvia officinalis) is a small aromatic shrub of the mint family that bees work for nectar on the dry Adriatic coast. Croatia is the main European producer of sage honey, and Greece also makes it.

In south-eastern Istria, sage grows in a broad community with feather grass on grazing land and yields significant amounts of nectar. The Istrian specification calls Istria the northernmost point at which medicinal sage is widespread in its native form, and on the northern part of the island of Cres sage pastures are among the most significant rocky plant communities. In Dalmatia sage grows mainly on karst land with very stony subsoil, exposed to the Bora wind.

Both protected names Dalmatinski med and Istarski med include a sage type: in Dalmatia the honey needs more than 10 % sage pollen, in Istria at least 15 %. In Dalmatia the work is done by the Carniolan bee. Dalmatian sage honey shows sage pollen from 11 % to 67 %, 24 % on average, together with pollen of Jerusalem thorn (Paliurus spina-christi) and tree heath (Erica arborea). Its electrical conductivity is 0.20–0.45 mS/cm in Dalmatia and 0.20–0.55 mS/cm in Istria.

Sage honey from these coasts is light to dark amber with a greenish sheen, smells of dried herbs and camphor and ends slightly bitter. The Istrian type can also be reddish-brown or orange-red, with a woody aroma.

Why this matters to you: under these two names the word sage on the jar is backed by a minimum pollen count, so the plant named on the label really fed the bees.