DISTRIBUTION: West Asia: Turkey, Georgia
SPECIES: Rhododendron ponticum / Rhododendron luteum
INTENSITY ✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✧✧
COLOUR: Orange-brown
TEXTURE: Liquid
SMELL / AROMA: Pungent smell; harsh, bitter taste
In 401 BC, when the armies led by the Greek general Xenophon were returning from an expedition to Persia, they stopped at some point to rest in the Trapezous area (today’s Trabzon). There were many swarms around and many wild combs. The Greek soldiers did not expect an invitation and devoured the honey. Not long after, Xenophon notes that he was “appalled when his soldiers suddenly behaved like madmen and collapsed en masse”.
A few centuries later, in 67 BC, the armies of King Mithriades VI of Pontus clashed with the Romans, led by General Pompey the Great. The Pontians placed combs with a mysterious honey for the Roman who were advancing. The Romans fell for it and greedily ate the honey. They all got dizzy and most were slaughtered by Mithridates’ men.
The honey in question is what the Turks call deli bal (mad honey). The species of rhododendron in this area (Rhododendron ponticum and Rhododendron luteum) contain neurotoxins from the grayanotoxin group, which can cause dizziness, low blood pressure, slow pulse, nausea and vomiting. Most of the time, the symptoms go away by themselves after a while, in rare cases requiring medical intervention.
Mad honey has a pungent odour and a harsh, bitter taste. It remains liquid for a very long time and is red-brown in colour. It is mainly produced in Turkey, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, in the Trabzon / Rize area. It is also produced in Georgia, on the Black Sea coast too.
A few centuries later, in 67 BC, the armies of King Mithriades VI of Pontus clashed with the Romans, led by General Pompey the Great. The Pontians placed combs with a mysterious honey for the Roman who were advancing. The Romans fell for it and greedily ate the honey. They all got dizzy and most were slaughtered by Mithridates’ men.
The honey in question is what the Turks call deli bal (mad honey). The species of rhododendron in this area (Rhododendron ponticum and Rhododendron luteum) contain neurotoxins from the grayanotoxin group, which can cause dizziness, low blood pressure, slow pulse, nausea and vomiting. Most of the time, the symptoms go away by themselves after a while, in rare cases requiring medical intervention.
Mad honey has a pungent odour and a harsh, bitter taste. It remains liquid for a very long time and is red-brown in colour. It is mainly produced in Turkey, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, in the Trabzon / Rize area. It is also produced in Georgia, on the Black Sea coast too.
