LITHUANIA | Li1, Spring Blossom | Li2, Summer polyfloral | Li3, Rapeseed | Li4, Linden | Li5, Buckwheat | Li6, Sosnowsky’s hogweed | Li7, Forest, European dark bee | Li8, Multifloral Hollow tree beekeeping | Li9, Vilnius city honeydew |
Li4, Linden Honey
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The honey
Often cited by Lithuanians as a favorite honey variety, linden honey has been valued in the region for centuries. This is partly due to the special cultural relationship with the tree itself. Almost every homestead had a linden tree: its bark was used for weaving, its wood cherished by folk carvers, and a small linden container, a liepinėlė (a wooden tub with lid, similar to design in butter churn) was traditionally made for storing honey.
It was also believed that the goddess of fortune, Laima, lived in a linden tree. The blooming of linden trees was extremely important in the old Baltic calendar, or Rėdos ratas - so much so, that the month of July, when the blossoms appear is called liepa in Lithuanian, which is the same name of the tree itself. Not every year the harvest of monofloral linden honey is possible, as rain and cold weather often interfere, reducing the period of foraging from weeks to several days. Only one native tilia species is found in Lithuania - Tilia cordata. Another 12 varieties have been introduced and can be found lining old country roads, as well as city streets - most common of these is Tilia platyphyllos. Linden flower tea, like linden honey, is still used today to treat colds. The flowering of linden marks not just midsummer but also the main honey flow—one mature linden tree produces as much nectar as an entire hectare of buckwheat! Aroma: strong, minty and balsamic with lime blossom intensity. Taste: pronounced sweetness with refreshing menthol-like aftertaste. Texture: smooth, medium-grained, quick to crystallize. The beekeeping
In a small apiary on the outskirts of Vilnius, Dainius Noreika has been keeping bees for 35 years. A decade ago, he began making mead, and today the fruits of his and his bees’ collaboration are sweeping up medals not only in Lithuania but across European mead competitions. In Balsiai and Verkiai, where the bee families (the Lithuanian preferred term to describe a hive) of Balsių medus forage, there are no monoculture fields—only orchards, forest, meadows, and an old manor park, whose century-old lindens provided the nectar for this honey.
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