In thick hollow logs, sealed at the ends with mud, and protected inside huts covered with guano, Mayan culture had been practicing meliponiculture and producing honey long before the arrival of the Spanish on the American continent. In pre-Hispanic times it was used as food, medicine, and even as a ritual element in honor of Ah Mucen Cab, the Mayan god of bees.
Since time immemorial
The production of honey was documented not only by the friars Diego de Landa and Francisco Javier Clavijero, but there are also records of it in the Madrid Codex. This written evidence shows that, since ancient times, honey was considered a sacred substance to be protected and revered.
Varieties
Since then, meliponiculture has had a strong presence not only in the Yucatan peninsula but also in the rest of the country with 320 varieties of honey, each with a different tone ranging from dark amber to white depending on the flower from which the bees sip the nectar. The main flowers from which honey is produced in Mexico are the avocado flower (called the black gold of Mexican honeys), the orange blossom, the mesquite flower, and the tajonal flower.
Mexican production
The production of honey in our flower-filled country has evolved a lot since the times of Ah Mucen Cab and its importance, far from diminishing, has increased. Currently 9 out of 10 honey importers worldwide buy Mexican honey. In addition, about 43 thousand producers located throughout the country depend on it as a source of income.
For all these reasons, we can only continue promoting this sacred liquid, so representative of our culture, and which also sweetens our breakfast every morning.
