Lavender honey, from the fields of flowers to the sweet delight

Purple waves draw an ocean of color and scent on the plateau of Valensole, in the Alpes de Haute-Provence. East of Manosque, overlooking the electric blue lake of Sainte-Croix, these lands perched at an altitude of nearly 600 meters are mainly home to lavandin crops, a cross between fine lavender and spike lavender. This variety is highly prized in cosmetics... and by the bees of the plateau's apiaries.

The flowering starts at the end of June and lasts for almost a month. In July, the buzzing of the bees almost rivals the coppery sound of the cicadas. This is the time when the beekeepers collect nectar from the flowers and bring it back to the hives installed on the edge of the fields. A precious booty that we call the honeydew. With nearly 120 flowers per ear, the treasure abounds. The bees are able to fly up to 3 kilometers around the hive.

At the end of the flowering, when the bees are full, Laurent Mouret comes to remove the frames from the top of the hive, the additional level of the hive destined to the honey harvest. The rest of the nectar stored in the lower part feeds the colony. To carry out this delicate operation, although carefully protected, the beekeeper keeps the bees away with the help of a smoker fed by twigs and pine needles.

The bees transformed the nectar into honey, helped by the worker bees who lowered the water content of the liquid to 18%. Now protected by a lid, the honey has reached maturity.

Since 1930, the Mouret family have been beekeepers from father to son, in Riez, "the honey capital" of the region. Laurent owns nearly 300 hives that he takes nearly three weeks to harvest, in duo, in the heart of summer. Each hive produces between 4 and 20 kg of honey, with a strong sensitivity to cold or drought. A full frame weighs up to 3 kg!

In the country of Giono, with the Montdenier massif as a backdrop, Laurent Mouret loves the moment of the harvest which immerses him in a scented nature. He likes to observe in the frame the darker cells, filled with honey of lavender (more precisely of lavandin). The lighter cells contain honey from other flowers of the scrubland. It is hard to resist the pleasure of plunging one's finger into the combs to taste the sweet liquid.

In his workshop, Laurent Mouret starts by uncapping the cells of each frame with a steam heated knife. This tool allows a very precise cutting and the targeting of the combs containing the lavender honey. The frames are then placed for a few minutes in an electric extractor to collect the sweet liquid. This liquid is then put to decant for a week in a device of "maturators".

Honey is not the only product of the hive. The wax that forms the combs in the oldest wooden frames is recycled in the perfume industry to fix the essences. The wax from the cappings is transformed into embossed wax used in the manufacture of candles and matrices for new frames.

After a week of maturation where pieces of wax, pollen and other impurities are eliminated by density, the lavender honey is stored in large stainless steel vats. It is characterized by its clear and limpid color as well as by its richness in saccharose. With a subtle and sweet flavor, it lends itself well to cooking. It marries perfectly with a duck breast and remains one of the star ingredients of the nougat of Montélimar.

Even neophytes will be able to distinguish lavender honey from its cousins. Tasting with a spoon reveals a more complex flavor than that of a garrigue honey... and no taste of lavender. For visitors who have admired the mauve embroidery of the Valensole plateau, this honeypot is a living piece of landscape to bring back from their trip.

On the road to Sainte-Croix-du-Verdon, in the middle of lavender fields flooded by the sun, Laurent Mouret has set up a point of sale that invites you to discover the products of the Provencal soil. His lavender honey of course, but also lavender honey vinegar, mead, nougat and olive oil made with the same care.