Pasta Grannies is the viral social media account following grandmas who make pasta by hand all over Italia. The other day, they took a trip to Ales, in the pristine countryside of western Sardegna. There, they met the energetic Zia Verina, who gave them a lesson on how to prepare and enjoy pardulas, traditional Sardinian pastries. The key ingredient of these little star-shaped tartlets? Sardinian honey, specifically Mieli Manias Millefiori honey!!
Zia Verina is not only a 100 year old nonna Sarda full of spirit and cooking skills. She’s the master beekeeper behind our beloved Mieli Manias. YES! She’s the aunt (aka Zia) of our honey guru Luigi Manias. Verina learned the art of beekeeping from her father. She helped manage the hives and collect honey when she was just a child. When the Manias family shifted from traditional to modern beekeeping, she became the go-to person to collect bee swarms that were previously only wild. Later, just like her father taught to her, she passed all her knowledge on to the next generation: her nephew Luigi.
Next in line? Beekeeper Luigi Manias
With a teacher like Zia Verina, it’s not a surprise that Luigi became the leading authority on beekeeping in Italy and beyond. Luigi gives lectures, animates workshops, and has won many awards for his incredible Sardinian honey. His raw, organic, and truly local Mieli Manias are the expression of the unique territory that Verina and Luigi call home.
NEVER filtered or pasteurized, Mieli Manias come in a kaleidoscope of different flavors, depending on what bees forage in the wilderness of the Monte Arci Regional National Park. There’s multipurpose millefiori, elegant asphodel, thedeeply floral cardoon, rich and caramelly eucalyptus, and rare bitter corbezzolo. Recently, we also added their bee pollen to our honey lineup.
Grazie Pasta Grannies for telling Zia Verina’s story and sharing with the world her stunning culinary skills! We can’t wait to taste those little pardulas when we visit Sardinia this fall.