Abbamele (also known as , ' or ' in Sardinian) is a

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

-based product from the rural culture of Sardinia ( Italy). The proper Sardinian name is also not rarely

italianized Italian (''italiano'' or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. Together with Sardinian, Italian is the least divergent language from Latin. Spoken by about 85 m ...

into ' ("honey sapa"). According to the traditional methods of preparation, honeycombs are crushed, and the balls of wax containing 20-30% of honey are collected in generic containers. In the days immediately after all the honey extract has settled, the remaining combs containing honey and

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...

are dipped in hot water (~ 50 °C), so that the water dissolves all the honey still present in the combs. At this point, any remaining lumps of wax and pollen are broken up through the use of a suitable mixer or by hand. The remaining wax is then pressed further to squeeze out any remaining liquid and is then stored in appropriate containers. The remaining liquid from the previous step is filtered, for example with a linen cloth, at least twice, and then placed in a suitable high-capacity boiler (sometimes made of copper) where it is boiled and concentrated via decoction. During this concentration process, finely cut lemon or orange rinds are added, and any impurities on the surface of the liquid are removed. The content of the boiler becomes gradually syrupy and must be kept in constant motion to prevent the product from sticking on the bottom and developing a smokey flavour. The liquid also becomes caramelized, becoming dark like

molasses Molasses () is a viscous substance resulting from refining sugarcane or sugar beets into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, method of extraction and age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is primarily used to sweeten and flavour foods ...

but much more complex, with a toasty flavour that has hints of coffee and

caramel Caramel ( or ) is an orange-brown confectionery product made by heating a range of sugars. It can be used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, or as a topping for ice cream and custard. The process of caramelizatio ...

. When the liquid assumes a consistency similar to that of honey, the heating is interrupted, and the boiler is deposited in a secluded place and allowed to cool before the abbamele is drained. The resulting abbamele has a concentrated honey flavour, and can be eaten with

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

, for example salted or smoked

ricotta cheese Ricotta ( in Italian) is an Italian whey cheese made from sheep, cow, goat, or Italian water buffalo milk whey left over from the production of other cheeses. Like other whey cheeses, it is made by coagulating the proteins that remain after the ...

, with fresh fruit, or even with pasta or vegetables.

References

External links

* * Italian cuisine Honey Rural culture in Europe Cuisine of Sardinia {{bee-stub