Miel Villuercas-Ibores

Miel Villuercas-Ibores is a Spanish honey with a protected designation of origin (PDO), made by Apis mellifera bees from native flora in the Villuercas-Ibores district of Extremadura. The specification recognises four types: retama, chestnut, multifloral and honeydew.

Retama honey must contain more than 50 % Retama sphaerocarpa pollen and chestnut honey more than 70 % chestnut pollen. Multifloral honey is collected at the start of summer. Honeydew honey comes at the end of summer, mainly from oaks and other Fagaceae, when the fewest plants are in flower.

The area is 27 municipalities in the south-east of the province of Cáceres: steep quartzite and slate mountains, with the La Villuerca massif reaching 1,601 m, and more rain than most of Extremadura. Written references to local beekeeping go back at least to 1086. Honey is centrifuged, decanted and filtered; crystallised honey may be warmed to 45 °C at most for packing.

Retama honey is light to dark amber, very aromatic and sweet. Chestnut honey is dark amber, strongly scented, slightly acidic, bitter and astringent. Honeydew honey is less sweet.

Why this matters to you: read the type on the label, retama for aromatic sweetness, chestnut or honeydew for strong, bitter notes. The jar carries a numbered secondary label with the EU symbol. For chestnut see Chestnut honey.