Honey conversations at YESAM

Nilhan Aras, the editor-in-chief of Metro Gastro Magazine, together with Nedim Atilla, a jounalist and food culture researcher, held a meeting about honey. The duo informed the participants about the honey situation in Turkey and answered questions from the audience. “Honey is a food made from the nectar found in flowers. Honey bees (Apis mellifera) transform this nectar into honey with the help of enzymes found in their stomachs. Then honey is filled into the honeycombs. Honey bees produce honey to feed themselves and their babies.  Humans help them in providing a better environment, shelter, honey storage and working space, so the honey bees can produce more honey with higher yield. Then they collect this honey and use it for their own purposes.”

The most asked question at the meeting was; “How can one differentiate between real honey and fake honey?” The speakers indicated that, on the label of the honey jar, the only ingredient listed should be honey and nothing else. After the seminar, participants had a chance to taste a variety of honeys flown in from various parts of Anatolia and desserts made with honey.

08 May 2013

Lecture video is in Turkish.