Discover the Honey "A Matricula"

Honey "A Matricula": Balagne's Happy Culteurs!

Located in Santa Reparata, in Balagne, the millery « In Matricula Estelle, Jean-Claude and their son François have been holding since 2008.

These "young" beekeepers (or "Happy Culteurs" because they are very friendly) account for more than 150 hives spread over several terrains in Cervione and Balagne. Each hive has about 90,000 bees in the season, compared to only 50,000 in the winter.

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Find an easy recipe based on honey at the end of this article ...

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Honeys from Calling Origin Controlled ...

All the honeys produced here are AOC, we find:

• AOC Spring Honey (April to mid-May)
• Spring maquis (mid-May to mid-June)
• AOC Châtaigneraie Honey (June)
• AOC Honey of Maquis (July to October)
• AOC Miellat du Maquis (August to October)

Not just honey!

Estelle offers sweets made from honey in her own laboratory and on the covered market of Ile Rousse. If you have the opportunity to go there, don't hesitate to taste his little delights:

• Gingerbread 100% honey (without sugar)
• Madeleinettes with honey and lemon
• Honey and hazelnut biscuits

Why the name?

"A Matricula" means "Queen of the Bees" in Corsican language...

Did you know that?

• The queen has a lifetime of 5 to 7 years!
• There's only one per hive
• She's the only one to lay!
• it lays from March to November only workers and males
• It only feeds on royal jelly

Not crazy wasp! Uh... the Bee!

The fast pace of a hive:

• March to April: After the first laying, Jean Claude and François select the royal cells (there are several queens) and divide the hive into 2 or 3 hives according to the number of inhabitants
• April to May: the bees spoil the spring flowers and fill their hive ... then at that time the beekeeper places "rises" or "uplifts" on the hives (these are floors filled with waxed and embossed frames ready to accommodate the alveoli and honey)

• From May to the end of October (in Corsica): The beekeeper regularly recovers the frames contained in the "rises" and replaces them with virgin honey frames so that the bees start their "work again". The frames thus harvested are garnished with honey-filled alveoles and shelled with wax = the moment of extraction at the mill (see photo steps)

• November to December: The beekeeper puts the hives in wintering = he stops harvesting honey, removes the increases and ensures that there is still a minimum of 20 kg of honey to feed the bees all winter
• December to April: The beekeeper takes the opportunity to "refurbish" his equipment, hives etc... The wax that has been harvested year round is also melted during this period and will be used to garnish the fine embossed frames (the one that will host the alveoles and honey during the summer)

In short, a perpetual repeat every year!

My recipe for « Risotto Eel Smoke, Honey of the Maquis and Safran de Porto-Vecchio« 

For 4 persons:

Ingredients:

• 300 gr of riso Arborio or Carnaroli
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 scale
• 1 laurel leaf
• 40 gr of white wine
• Poultry bouillon (estimate 1 litre)
• Salt and pepper
• 1 gr of saffron powder
• 50 gr of butter
• 30 gr Parmesan
• 200 gr smoked eel

Implementation:

1. Heat the rice dry with the saffron in a saucepan, add 10gr of butter, chiseled shallot, chopped garlic and bay leaf: nacre the rice lightly.
2. Deglaze with white wine and halve
3. Cook over high heat (keep boiling constant)
4. Moisten with poultry broth as you go by reducing the amount of broth at the end of cooking: estimated time of about 14 minutes
5. At the end of cooking, taste the rice to check the cooking of the rice (al dente) and correct seasoning
6. Out of the heat, emulsify with remaining butter and grated parmesan
7. Let stand 1 minute and serve
8. Place eel on hot rice and finish with honeynet

 

Julien D.