Strawberry tree honey

The strawberry tree is an evergreen species, usually a shrub, that grows wild mainly around the Mediterranean basin.

Kew's Plants of the World Online accepts Arbutus unedo L. in the family Ericaceae and describes it as a shrub or tree native to the Mediterranean.

Sardinia is probably the region with the most significant production in the world; the honey is also produced in Corsica, Portugal, Spain, Albania, Croatia and Turkey.

Arbutus pollen is under-represented in honey: harmonised melissopalynology lists a relative frequency of only 8 to 20 percent in unifloral strawberry tree honeys.

Because homogentisic acid was not detected in any other monofloral honey tested, it was proposed as a chemical marker of strawberry tree honey.

As reported by Floris, Satta and Ruiu (2007), cited in Floris et al. 2021, the flavour is not very sweet at first and then decidedly bitter, normally or decidedly acidic, and astringent.

The same reported description gives a medium to very intense, pungent smell recalling burnt leather, bitter herbs and especially coffee (Floris, Satta and Ruiu 2007, cited in Floris et al. 2021).

The same reported description says the honey is amber when liquid and takes on a hazelnut to light brown colour when crystallised, and that crystallisation is rapid and often irregular (Floris, Satta and Ruiu 2007, cited in Floris et al. 2021).

The main organic acid of strawberry tree honey was identified as homogentisic acid, averaging 378 ± 92 mg/kg, and nectar analysis confirmed its floral origin.

European data give colour 70.1 ± 10.0 mm Pfund, electrical conductivity 0.74 ± 0.10 mS/cm, fructose 37.6 ± 1.5 and glucose 32.7 ± 1.2 g/100 g, and fructose to glucose ratio 1.15 ± 0.05.

The honey comes from the autumn flowering of the strawberry tree, whose flowering period runs from October to January.

Strawberry tree honey is listed among types whose water content can exceed the 20 g/100 g limit (maximum 21.0 recorded) and whose diastase can fall below 3 Schade units.