Miele della Lunigiana

Miele della Lunigiana is an Italian honey with a protected designation of origin (PDO) from the mountainous Lunigiana in the province of Massa-Carrara in Tuscany. Since 2026 the name has covered five types: acacia, chestnut, heather (from Erica arborea), honeydew and wildflower.

Acacia honey is very light, stays liquid for a long time and tastes decidedly sweet with a note of vanilla; it holds up to 20,000 acacia pollen grains per 10 g. Chestnut honey is dark amber with reddish tones and some bitterness, with over 100,000 chestnut pollen grains per 10 g. Heather honey crystallises quickly into fine crystals and has over 45 % heather pollen. Honeydew honey darkens to almost black, and wildflower honey, rich in dandelion and Prunus pollen, starts runny and then crystallises.

All types have water of at most 18 % and HMF of at most 10 mg/kg within four months of extraction. Woodland covers about 65,000 ha, 67 % of the area. Acacia blooms in April and May, chestnut in June and July. A beekeepers' association was founded in 1873.

Why this matters to you: check the type on the label before buying, because the taste runs from delicate acacia to bitter chestnut.