Retama honey

Flavour and aroma

Aroma

broom flowers, almond, light vanilla

Flavour

almond, soft floral, light caramel

Finish

Short and clean.

Flavour character

• Floral and fruity — floral
• Warm and cooked — nutty

Colour, texture and crystallisation

Colour

1. Water white0–8 mm
2. Extra white8–17 mm — this honey
3. White17–34 mm — this honey
4. Extra light amber34–50 mm — this honey
5. Light amber50–85 mm
6. Amber85–114 mm
7. Dark amber114+ mm

Pale straw, clear and bright, occasionally with a faint greenish tint.

On setting: Sets to a fine pale cream.

Texture

Runny; Soft set; Creamed

Crystallisation

Moderate, step 3 of 5, from very slow to very fast

Moderate — granulates over a few months; sets with a fine crystal.

A moderate and fine set. Legume honeys generally granulate at a middling rate with an even grain.

Typical composition

Moisture

13–16.5% (typically 15%)

Fructose

36–42% (typically 39%)

Glucose

30–36% (typically 33%)

pH

3.5–4.3 (typically 3.9)

Electrical conductivity

0.1–0.4 mS/cm (typically 0.25 mS/cm)

These are typical ranges assembled across published work, not measurements of a specific honey.

What these mean: the sugars and the ratio · moisture · conductivity · how each is measured

Protected versions and what they require

One protected name sells this honey type under a registered specification. Each sets limits a jar must meet to carry the name — they describe that protected honey, not every retama honey.

Where it comes from

Floral source

Cytisus supranubius (long known as Spartocytisus supranubius), the Teide white broom, endemic to the high caldera of Tenerife and to La Palma.

Origins

Teide National Park and the high caldera of Tenerife, Canary Islands, above roughly 2,000 metres.

Origin pages

• The Canary Islands

Resolved from both directions — origins this honey names, and origins that name it.

Origin protection

Covered by the Miel de Tenerife Protected Designation of Origin, whose specification recognises Teide broom (retama) honey as one of its monofloral types.

Typical harvest

May to June (northern hemisphere)

A brief window at extreme altitude, and one of the shortest harvest periods of any European honey.

A typical window for the honey type, HoneyHQ synthesis — not a calendar for any one place.

The bees

Hives are carried up into the national park for the flowering and removed afterwards, under permit. The Canary black bee is the local stock.

Usual processing

Raw, Coarsely strained, Spun (centrifugally extracted), Creamed (seeded and controlled-set)

Hive placement inside a national park requires permits and is limited, which caps production regardless of demand. Volumes are very small.

What to do with it

A pleasant everyday honey with a genuine almond note, which makes it good in baking despite its delicacy.

At the tableSpreadingDessertsBaking

Pairings

• Almond pastries and turrónClassic

  The honey already tastes faintly of almond.

• Fresh cheeses

  Mild and lactic against mild and floral.

• Plain yoghurt

  Enough character to be noticed without dominating.

Similar honeys and substitutes

Three different questions with different answers: a honey that tastes alike can behave differently in a recipe, and the same set texture says nothing about flavour. Each list is chosen from the recorded fields that matter to its question — and, where tasting panels or specifications described both honeys, the terms they share — and every suggestion says which, and what will be different. Compare it side by side or build a tasting flight.

History and traditional use

The retama is the emblematic plant of the Teide caldera, and beekeeping in the park is a long-established seasonal practice now managed under conservation rules.