Returning to my hometown to inherit three mountains: Don't stop me from raising pigs

Chapter 548 The Secret of Honey

"Uncle Gu, I have a question I've always wanted to ask you. Why is the honey from the Qinling Mountains so much better than that from other places?"

Gu Chang sat at the table, scooped a spoonful of the hundred-flower honey that Gu Changlin had just handed over, and gently put it into his mouth.

At that moment, a rich floral fragrance and sweetness spread on the tip of the tongue, as if the entire mouth was filled with fragrance.

Gu Changlin smiled and replied: "The honey from the Qinling region has a long history and profound heritage."

He paused and continued, "As early as in ancient myths and legends, in ancient times, Emperor Yan's mother and daughter Deng domesticated Chinese bees in the Qinling Mountains. She collected the flowers of plants and trees, gathered the nectar of hundreds of flowers, and brewed the nutritious heavenly nectar. Since then, Qinling honey has become famous."

As Gu Changlin spoke, an ancient scene gradually unfolded before Gu Chang's eyes.

He imagined the busy figure of the female climber in the mountains and forests of Qinling Mountains, and the scene of bees flying around her.

Gu Changlin went on to say: "A long time ago, people in the Qinling Mountains began to make simple beehives out of wood, and then recruit wild bees from the mountains and forests to bring home."

"They placed bee colonies near their houses and allowed them to grow and reproduce freely. These hardworking mountain people worked from sunrise to sunset, and their lives remained as peaceful and orderly as usual."

Gu Chang listened attentively, as if he could see the bees flying through the mountains and forests, and the beautiful scene of the mountain people living in harmony with nature.

"When I open the beehives in late autumn and before winter, if I find honey, I take some out to eat. If the bees flee, I don't care too much. Then I wait for the next spring to start a new cycle."

This traditional beekeeping method is called "barrel farming". Although the honey production is limited, it follows the natural habits of bees, and the honey it produces is mellow, sweet and delicious.

Gu Chang stared at the seemingly ordinary and old wooden barrels next to him curiously and asked, "Are these the beehives that are raised in wooden barrels?"

Gu Changlin nodded and responded: "Yes, there are bees living in these barrels now."

Then he continued, "In fact, the reason why the honey in the Qinling area is of high quality is that there are many factors working together."

Gu Changlin further explained: "Many people may not know that the Qinling Mountains are known as one of the world's three major honey sources, on par with New Zealand's North Island and Germany's Black Forest!"

"Ah? So amazing?" Gu Chang was shocked when he heard this! He had heard about the Qinling Mountains producing honey before, but he didn't expect it to be so precious and unique.

There is a famous saying in the honey industry: "Whoever controls the honey source controls the world", which means that the place with high-quality honey sources will become the overlord of the honey industry.

The vast Qinchuan area of ​​800 miles is undoubtedly an extremely precious and elusive source of honey.

"Qinling Mountains are the main origin of most of my country's high-quality honey; in the Qinling Mountains and Taibai Mountains alone, there are more than 1600 nectar-producing plants!" Gu Changlin introduced with a smile.

"For example, there are lacquer trees, lime trees, etc. There are also countless sources of medicinal flowers and nectar, such as gallnut, schisandra, etc!" Gu Changlin explained in detail.

Hearing this, Gu Chang couldn't help but secretly gasp! 1600 species? So many?

The large number and variety of various nectar sources make Qinling one of the three major nectar sources in the world, and it has advantages that other places cannot match.

"In addition to the nectar source, Qinling honey has another major advantage - bee species!" Gu Changlin continued.

"Bee species? Are there many types of bees? Are there big differences?"

Gu Chang asked in confusion. He didn't know much about bees. He only knew that they could make honey, but he knew nothing about the differences between different types of bees.

"Many people think that all bees make honey, so what's the difference?"

Gu Changlin smiled and shook his head, and continued to explain: "Not really! There are two main species of bees currently raised by beekeepers in our country: one is the Chinese honey bee, also known as the Chinese honey bee or native bee."

"The other type is the Italian honey bee, also known as the Italian honey bee, which was introduced in recent decades. Although both types of bees can make honey, their living habits and honey production capabilities are different."

Gu Changlin picked up a beehive, opened the lid, carefully held a bee in his hand, and showed it to Gu Chang: "Look, this is our Chinese native bee, also known as the Chinese honey bee! Its color is darker than that of the Italian honey bee, and its body is relatively small."

Gu Chang looked at the bee curiously, trying to tell the difference between it and the other bees, but apart from the slightly darker color, he really couldn't see anything special.

He smiled sheepishly: "I still can't tell the difference."

Gu Changlin smiled and said, "Haha, it's okay. It's really hard to tell the difference when you first come into contact with them. However, our wild bees have strong attack power, so you must be careful when you come into contact with them to avoid being stung."

After saying this, he gently put down the bee in his hand and closed the lid of the beehive again.

"There are usually several or even more than a dozen boxes of wooden barrel wild bees, most of which are raised by elderly people left behind in mountainous areas. The amount of honey produced depends entirely on the weather of the year, and it is common for the bee colonies to fly away!" Gu Changlin said with emotion.

He picked up a bee and handed it to Gu Chang: "This is the Italian bee."

Gu Chang took the bee and observed it carefully. Compared with the Chinese bee, the Italian bee is obviously different. The Chinese bee's body is mainly gray-black with yellow rings in between; while the front half of the Italian bee's tail is bright yellow, and the back half is dark black. The body is also slightly larger than the Chinese bee.

Gu Chang asked curiously: "Is there any difference in the honey produced by these two types of bees?"

Gu Changlin nodded and replied, "Of course there are! The honey production of Chinese bees is relatively low, but the quality is very high; the honey production of Italian bees is relatively high, but the quality is slightly inferior. However, it is really hard to say which one is better."

Then, he paused and continued to explain: "Not only that, the honey produced by the two types of bees also tastes different."

"Chinese honey is generally a multi-flower honey, which is brewed from a variety of nectar plants, so the taste of local honey is more mixed. Italian bees mainly collect a large area of ​​a single flower species, such as rapeseed flowers, acacia, etc., so the taste of Italian honey is relatively simple."

After hearing this, Gu Chang couldn't help but frowned and asked in confusion: "What's the difference between these two kinds of honey? Which one is better?"

"The floral fragrance of wild honey is not the aroma of a single plant, but a mixture of the fragrance of many flowers. Sometimes people even feel that its taste is not as pure as that of ideal honey." Gu Changlin explained with a smile.

He went on to say: “Italian bees mainly collect single-flower nectar, so its taste is relatively purer. Some single-flower nectars can also let you taste the unique flavor of the nectar source plant.”

Gu Changlin continued: "It is difficult to simply judge which is better, as local honey and Italian honey have their own characteristics. Local honey has a rich and mellow taste, with a floral and medicinal flavor, moderate sweetness, and is mostly light yellow or brown in color. The taste and flavor of Italian honey vary depending on the source of the honey."

Finally, Gu Changlin concluded: "The key to the quality of honey lies in the quality of the nectar source during the flowering period, not the bee species itself." After saying that, he laughed.

After hearing this, Gu Chang suddenly realized and exclaimed: "It turns out that there is so much knowledge contained in this!"

As he learned more about beekeeping, he became more and more moved.