Pine honey
{{Short description|Type of honeydew honey}}
Pine honey ({{Langx|el|πευκόμελο|translit=pefkomelo}}; {{langx|tr|çam balı}}) is a type of honeydew honey. It is a sweet and spicy honey, with some woody notes, a resinous fragrance and dark amber color. It is a common breakfast dish in Turkey and Greece, where it is drizzled over yoghurt and eaten with bread.{{Cite book| publisher = Running Press| isbn = 978-1-60376-239-7| last = Marchese| first = C. Marina| title = Honeybee: Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper| date = 2011-05-20}}
Pine honey is an unusual honey, because it is not produced entirely by honey bees.{{Cite book| publisher = John Wiley & Sons| isbn = 978-1-4443-0514-2| last = Toussaint-Samat| first = Maguelonne| title = A History of Food| date = 2009-03-25}} It is produced by bees that collect honeydew (sugary secretions) from a scale insect species called Marchalina hellenica, which lives on the sap of certain pine trees.{{Cite journal|last1=de-Miguel|first1=Sergio|last2=Pukkala|first2=Timo|last3=Yeşil|first3=Ahmet|date=2014-05-01|title=Integrating pine honeydew honey production into forest management optimization|journal=European Journal of Forest Research|volume=133|issue=3|pages=423–432|doi=10.1007/s10342-013-0774-2|s2cid=12647284}} The M. hellenica can be found on the Turkish Pine (Pinus brutia), as well as the Aleppo Pine (P. halepensis), Austrian Pine (P. nigra), Scots Pine (P. sylvestris), and Stone Pine (P. pinea).{{Cite book| publisher = Routledge| isbn = 978-1-136-74669-7| last = Crane| first = Ethel Eva| title = The World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting| date = 2013-08-16}}{{Cite book| publisher = Springer| isbn = 978-3-319-24744-1| last1 = Paine| first1 = Timothy D.| last2 = Lieutier| first2 = Francois| title = Insects and Diseases of Mediterranean Forest Systems| date = 2016-01-06}}
Pine honey is commonly produced anywhere pine forests are plentiful and conventional honey sources, such as flowers or fruit tree blossoms, are few. It can be found in some heavily forested areas of Germany, Norway, Italy,{{cite web |url=http://www.bioapi.it/prodotti-alveare/317-il-miele-di-melata |title=Il miele di melata |website=www.bioapi.it |access-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425025910/http://www.bioapi.it/prodotti-alveare/317-il-miele-di-melata |archive-date=25 April 2016 |url-status=dead}} New Zealand, and the United States but is primarily produced in the pine forests of the eastern Mediterranean.{{Cite web|title=All About German Honey - Germanfoods.org|url=https://germanfoods.org/german-food-facts/all-about-german-honey/|access-date=2021-08-07|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Honeydew – Forest Honeys|url=https://www.honeytraveler.com/types-of-honey/honeydew-forest-honey-2/|access-date=2021-08-07|website=Honey Traveler|language=en-US}} Major production occurs in Turkey, the Middle East, the Balkans, and many Greek mountains and islands. The monastic communities at Mount Athos in Greece are renowned for their pine honey production and throughout Greece pine honey makes up 60–65% of total honey production.{{Cite journal|last=Gounari|first=S|date=2006-03-01|title=Studies on the phenology of Marchalina hellenica (Gen.) (Hemiptera: Coccoidea, Margarodidae) in relation to honeydew flow|url=http://www.ibra.org.uk/articles/20080612_28|journal=Journal of Apicultural Research|pages=8–12|doi=10.3896/IBRA.1.45.1.03}} Turkey produces 92% of the world’s pine honey.{{Cite web| title = Turkey makes over 90 percent of pine honey production worldwide| work = DailySabah| date = 27 November 2015| access-date = 2018-04-03| url = https://www.dailysabah.com/life/2015/11/27/turkey-makes-over-90-percent-of-pine-honey-production-worldwide}}[https://gain.fas.usda.gov/Recent%20GAIN%20Publications/The%20Turkish%20Beekeeping%20and%20Honey%20Sector_Ankara_Turkey_5-27-2015.pdf The Turkish Bee Keeping and Honey Sector], United States Department of Agriculture, 2015 Muğla Province accounts for 80% of Turkish pine honey production.{{Cite web| title = Muğla'da çam balı üretimi yüze 50 düştü| work = Dünya Gazetesi| access-date = 2018-04-03| date = 2016-01-06| url = https://www.dunya.com/yurttan-haberler/mugla039da-cam-bali-uretimi-yuze-50-dustu-haberi-303649}}