Abstract
The sensory quality of a food is related to the consumer’s ethno-social and idiosyncratic conditions. In this study, honeys from three different environments in the Chaco region of Córdoba (Argentina) were described qualitatively and quantitatively by specialized evaluators and rural peasant. Honeys with a wide diversity of sensory attributes were evidenced. The samples from Salinas Coast were characterized by high fluidity, those from Serrano Forest by quantity of crystals, and those from Plain Forest by the greatest persistence of taste. The rural population used some shared descriptors for honeys from similar geographical origin. Most rural consumers distinguished the honey from A. mellifera, Plebeia nov. sp. and P. molesta, which were also the preferred ones. We analyzed the results in relation to the Socio-ecological Theory of Maximization and concluded that the sensory components of P. molesta honeys allow their differentiation according to environment of origin and from honeys of other melliferous insects, which together with farmers´ idiosyncratic factors model the selection of the product.
Highlights
Honey is a natural sweet substance produced by different bees and wasps, from the nectar of plants, from secretions of their living parts, or from excretions of sucking insects from plants
Meniponiculture being an activity supported in recent years by different government and academic agencies that promote the conservation and sustainable use of these bees and non-wood forest products of cultural, nutritional and medicinal importance (Geisa 2020). In light of these theoretical axes, we propose as a working hypothesis that according to their sensory attributes the honeys of Plebeia molesta are distinctive with respect to the honeys produced by other bees
Taking into account that quella honeys are valuable for these peasant communities as a medicinal resourceof nutritional and symbolic importance (Geisa and Hilgert 2019), and that the preference of a food is related to the sensation of taste mediated by its organoleptic characteristics (Sacho Valls et al 1999), we hope to find that rural inhabitants choose P. molesta honeys as their favorite.The first objective of this work was to identify the sensory characteristics of Plebeia molesta honeys from three native forest environments in the northwest of Córdoba, applying an evaluation carried out by a group of researchers trained in sensory analysis
Summary
Honey is a natural sweet substance produced by different bees and wasps, from the nectar of plants, from secretions of their living parts, or from excretions of sucking insects from plants. In the central-northern region of Argentina, the use of wild honeys is deeply rooted in the culture of both native peoples and peasant communities, with a growing interest in recent years (PNUD Argentina 2019). In this context, the bases are being developed to strengthen “meliponicultura” of some species of cultural value following native stingless bees (NSB) breeding and sustainable management practices (Gennari 2019)
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