Slavonski med

Slavonski med is a Croatian honey with a protected designation of origin (PDO), made by native grey bees (Apis mellifera carnica, Pannonian subtype) in Slavonia. The name covers seven types: black locust, linden, rapeseed, sunflower, chestnut, blossom and oak honeydew.

Common limits: water at most 18.3 % and HMF at most 16.5 mg/kg; sucrose is kept low (up to 9 g/100 g in black locust honey, up to 4 g in the others). Pollen minimums are black locust 20 %, linden 25 %, rapeseed 61 %, sunflower 45 % and chestnut 86 %. Black locust honey is yellow to light yellow with a mild taste, chestnut honey brown and bitter, and the oak honeydew nearly black with a marked sourness.

The honey is not pasteurised, it is spun without heating, and it may be decrystallised only up to 43 °C. Bees may be fed only outside the foraging period and only with sugar produced in Slavonia. The Slavonian Beekeeping Association was founded in Osijek in 1879, and its journal "Slavonska pčela" began in 1881.

Why this matters to you: every pack carries the logo, and the type decides the taste, from mild black locust to astringent chestnut.