Honey and jam producers Midi-Pyrénées

At the exit of Bagnères-de-Luchon, the Miellerie des Sept Molles is a honey producer since the beginning of the 60s with more than 700 hives. You can visit, discover the job and a store offers all the products of the hive: pollen, royal jelly, gingerbread, propolis-based products... And of course honey in different varieties: all flowers, acacia, rosemary, mountain, forest, sunflower, heather and rhododendron... A visit as cultural as tasty.

L'Hôtel du Pont Vieux is not only a charming hotel, ideally located for enjoying the wonders of the medieval city of Carcassonne. It is also committed to promoting good regional products, and has a grocery corner. This is where you'll find Catherine's wonderful jams, under the name "Confitures de la cité". While the packaging is elegant, don't hesitate to remove the lid to taste them: salted butter caramel, apple jelly with spices, kiwi from Cuxac d'Aude... with a steady stream of new flavors.

Ballot-Flurin has been an independent, family-run business since 1977, specializing in apitherapy and gentle beekeeping. Discover their rare honeys from free-living bees, and their products based on propolis, pollen and royal jelly. Ballot-Flurin is the assurance of natural health, thanks to the power of bees. Our cosmetics (shampoos, soaps, creams) are also based on the work of bees. The boutique also offers candle-making workshops. An original and useful visit.

Elfe d'aquí is Sylvie and her traditional or new jams and preserves, of the seasons, made with local fruits, plants and flowers. We love her elderberry or dandelion flower jellies, the touch of thyme, rosemary or wild thyme that perfume her jams. If she practices wild harvesting, she also obtains from local producers, in sweet wines for example, for her muscat or banyuls confits. And its banana or mango jams are flavoured with a local ingredient all the same? Poetry in a jar.

A la Ruche is the passion of good taste from father to son for 30 years. The old school turned shop is a beautiful Ali Baba's cave where Vincent will make you discover a wide range of honeys and about fifteen products derived from honey: vinegar, mead, spread... The gingerbread made and baked on the spot every day is a real treat. It can be tasted, just like the nougatines or the fruit juices, on the terrace, in the shade of the mulberry tree, on the very pretty Place de l'Ecole in the heart of this astonishing medieval village which remains lively in summer and winter.

This grouping of 14 honey producers from the department is a great idea. In turn, the co-operators come to run the shop in this brand new building where the honeys of our department are on sale. Chestnut, rhododendron, thyme, garrigue honey, the list is long. But much more than a simple point of sale, a guided tour will make you aware of the beekeeping techniques from the extraction of honey to the potting and the role of bees for our life on earth.

It is difficult not to be seduced by this unique operation! In this artisanal honey and vinegar factory, honey vinegar and honey mustard are mainly produced and sold under the brand name Apis Vinaegria. Honey vinegar? Yes, you read that right! With time the use became rare but vinegar can be made from this sweet substance. Already in the Middle Ages, many everyday products were obtained from the beehive, such as wax and honey of course, but also vinegar.

These beekeepers practice transhumance over lavender fields, chestnut and acacia forests, garrigues and causses, offering a wide range of locally-produced organic honeys. Thirteen varieties of honey and a wide range of products are on offer: honey gingerbread, mead, honey nougat, honey sweets, honey vinegar, propolis, beeswax... The honey house also boasts a large production of royal jelly.

This associative shop brings together producers and craftsmen who offer ceramics, fabric creations, but also a wide range of delicacies: biscuits, honeys, pâtés, syrups, jams, herbal teas and pélardons are displayed in the shop, which is run in turn by the producers. A small restaurant, based on local products on sale, allows you to taste the specialities of the region on the spot through local menus or plates. A nice showcase of Lozerian know-how

Gisèle and Jean-Claude Ponsonnaille look after more than 300 hives. During the summer season, these passionate beekeepers demonstrate all the stages of honey extraction. Honey is also the raw material for many specialities such as cookies, nougat, traditional gingerbread or the unusual caramiel, a delicious spread. In season, the guided tour of the honey house is completed by a video before tasting in the beautiful vaulted room, where you can find many other local products in addition to home-made products.

From the fauna and flora of the garrigues to the tasting of honeys through the work of the bees, you can discover in Saint-Gély, a beekeeping operation that works exclusively with solar energy. On the farm, you will discover 12 to 14 different varieties of honey (Agréé mountain honey, forest honey, Cévennes honey, Causses honey, garrigue honey, thyme honey, rosemary honey, lavender honey, chestnut tree honey, white heather honey, acacia honey), royal jelly, gingerbread and honey sweets.

For more than 20 years, Joseph has been contributing to the preservation of the tireless worker bees, so fragile and so precious. It is therefore with a real passion that he works with the local breed of bees and also produces his own queens! It's fascinating to talk to him. With so much love and attention, the honeys made at the Rucher Arrensois could only reflect this relationship: heather, dandelion, rhododendron and lime tree honeys are all delicious and we recommend the "all flowers"..

This bee farm, created in 1960 by Charles Rouquette, became one of the most important in the region in the 1980s. Throughout the year, you can taste all the products of the hive: honey in all sauces (thyme, lavender, thistle, chestnut, rosemary), royal jelly, gingerbread, honey, honey vinegar, nougats... Charles Rouquette also organizes visits lasting 1h30 to discover the activity of beekeeping, it ends with a tasting.

Located in Lorp-Sentaraille, in the heart of the Ariège region, Compagnie des Pyrénées has specialized in fruit and vegetable processing for over 25 years. Their products, such as jams, jellies, compotes, coulis, confits and condiments, are made with traditional know-how and a concern for quality. The range includes organic jams, coulis in a variety of flavors, original sauces and ketchups, and confits with onions, figs and balsamic vinegar. La Compagnie des Pyrénées also offers customized recipes and own-brand packaging.

A few steps from the Orgues d'Ille site, Rayon d'Or is truly the kingdom of honey. The fruit of the harvest of 25 beekeepers, honey is available here in about twenty varieties and some by-products such as its famous gingerbread, the famous nonnettes (apricot, raspberry and blueberry), gourmet sweets (thyme and liquorice honey gums or honey and eucalyptus), but also Catalan nougats and tourons without forgetting honey hypocras and finally more and more organic products. Visits to the honey house are by reservation, all year round.

Rucher de l'Ours was founded in 1975. Today, Philippe Weibel runs 300 hives in the Pyrenees, producing around 10 tonnes of a wide variety of honeys every year. Within a 100 km radius of the honey house, the bees find a wide variety of resources in a pollution-free environment. Among the products on offer here are some twenty honeys, such as dandelion honey, with its pronounced taste slightly attenuated by the taste of wild cherry, very bitter arbutus honey, woodruff honey...

Catherine's jams have been delighting visitors to the Hôtel du Pont Vieux for some years now, and now that they've opened the grocery store, a whole space is dedicated to gourmet delights! L'Echoppe, located right next to the hotel, not only sells Les Confitures de la Cité®, but also wines, charcuterie, cheeses, preserves and cookies, mainly from the region. As for jams, there's always the staple: salted butter caramel, apple jelly with spices, kiwi from Cuxac d'Aude... and new products regularly!

Since 1976, Ballot-Flurin has been developing care, beauty and hygiene products from the hive, 100% natural and certified organic. Pioneer of organic beekeeping and creator of the Apiculture DOUCE®, the company was born from a conviction: a beautiful nature favors a beautiful humanity. The preparations are on sale at the store: propolis spray, care balms, soaps, creams, royal jelly, honeys... You can also enjoy the spa and soon the care in the bee room.

They have been close to bees for twenty years. The friendly Oulès couple today has 220 hives, which is more than ten million winged and very dedicated workers who work to transform the nectar and the honeydew of plants in honey of scrubland, flowers of sunflower, mountain, rosemary, chestnust tree, bush, heather and many other perfumes. They are all character honey. Carole and Armand also sell gingerbreads, honey sweets, hazelnut confits, almond comfit with honey, as well as chestnut cream.

La Miellerie des Clauses isn't just a producer's store, it's also an invitation to discover the life of bees through the eyes of passionate beekeepers. Through an observatory, Laurent explains the life of bees in a specially dedicated workshop, and the beekeeper won't hesitate to open a hive full of bees, which you can observe in complete safety behind a bay window. Our production, which is being converted to organic farming, regularly wins awards in competitions. Summer workshops for young and old.