Tag Archives: La Gomera

The cold-hardy Gomera-1 Mango Tree

Canarius | Sunday May 29th, 2011 |

Gomera-1 is a hardy variety of Mango suited to a coastal Mediterranean climate. It is used as a rootstock for grafting other cultivars of mango, because the roots of Gomera-1 grow better in colder or dryer areas and improve the cold-hardiness of the plant.

Two Mango Gomera-1 trees in a poorly irrigated terrace in Southern Anaga, Tenerife.

This variety of mango is well adapted to the environment of the Canary Islands. It can be seen thriving in windy areas with rocky soils. It is unscathed by cool and wet winters and fruits very well and regularly. It is found on many islands and it was probably, initially brought from Cuba. The name Gomera refers to the island of La Gomera, one of the seven islands of our archipelago. This is where Canarian agronomists collected the first samples to study this mango which is quite common in the rural areas of the islands.  Fruits are yellow, small to average size (250 g average), with  very good flavour, sweet, aromatic, with a high content in fibres.

Yellow fruits of the Cold Hardy Canarian Mango named Gomera – 1

Cultivation

It needs just the same conditions of any other mango trees. It is reproduced from seed. As a polyembrionic Mango, 90% of the seedlings are true to type. Adult trees are able to flower up to 3 times a year. If it is too cold or wet, they will loose the inflorescences and flower again, about 2 months later, until the right season for fruit set is matched. In order to achieve larger fruits sizes, it is good to remove by hand 1/3 of the fruits from the bunch. Gomera-1 fruits outdoors in coastal Mediterranean climates and it needs little or no protection in coastal Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece and also in the French Riviera.

Use as Root Stock for Grafting

Mango Gomera is regularly used as a rootstock for grafting throughout the Canary Islands and also in Andalusia. The use of the Canarian Hardy Mango as a rootstock permitted to push the commercial production of Mango in the Mediterranean basin, because the roots are hardier to cold and wet soil. All the different varieties of mango trees that we offer for sale are grafted on Gomera-1 rootstocks, so our customers in Europe will get the benefit of some added cold resistance from the roots.

Gomera mango trees used as a rootstock to graft different varieties

Gomera mango trees used as a rootstock to graft different varieties

Scientific Literature in Spanish about Mango Gomera

Mejora del Mango en Canarias

Gomera-1 en el programa de mejora del Mango

Buy cold hardy mango trees in our Shop

In our shop you can purchase small trees of Gomera mangos and also a wide selection of mango trees of different varieties. All trees are grafted by hand, with specific cultivars. We ship them directly to your home. Try also our delicious Mango jam with or without sugar, in the honeys & jams section, produced with the mangoes of the Canary Islands.

Bee Honey VS Palm Honey

Canarius | Friday June 11th, 2010 |

Palm honey is not Bee honey. It is the concentred sap of the Canary Islands native palm, Phoenix canariensis. It is thinner and darker than bee-honey. Both are natural sweeteners, but there is a big difference in taste and chemical content. The Canary Islands are home to great bee-honeys produced from indigenous flowers. Both bee-honey and palm-honey are used in local cuisine.

Difference in Cuisine and their nutritional content

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  • Bee-Honey is better on: Fresh Fruits, Milk as sweetener.
  • Palm-Honey is better on: Fresh Cheese, Yogourt, Liqueurs.
  • Both are good in: Cakes, Gofio, Sweetener for Tea
Ecological Guarapo

Ecological Guarapo – Palm Honey is typically sold in glass bottles

Chestnut Honey

Chestnut Honey – Bee Honey is typicall sold in glass jars

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There is also a big difference in nutritional content. Palms and bees are different living beings! Both are very healthy products because they contain natural, beneficial chemicals. Their content is different. Palm honey, for example is very rich in Magnesium and Potassium.

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Here we share a table from a study performed on canarian honeys.

ESSAY OF THE CONCENTRATION OF INORGANIC IONS IN THE “PALM HONEY” FROM THE SAP OF THE CANARY ISLANDS PALM.
IONS (%)
PALM HONEY BEE HONEY
CALCIUM 0,0043 0,006
COPPER 0,00015 0,00007
IRON 0,0010 0,0009
PHOSPHORUS 0,025 0,016
MAGNESIUM 0,019 0,006
POTASSIUM 1,038 0,010
SODIUM 0,056 0,003
ZINC 0,00034 -
Source: “Análisis bromatológico de iones inorgánicos en Miel de Palma”
Alberto Castilla Armas – Pedro Abreu Gonzalez

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You can buy different types of palm-honey and bee-honey from the Canary Islands in the Honey Section of our Shop. We ship to anywhere in Europe.

The Palm Honey in La Gomera

Canarius | Wednesday February 17th, 2010 |

The Palm Honey in La Gomera

It is all about palm “honey”. See how the palm sap is collected from tall, wild palmtrees in La Gomera. Spectacular images, nice music. Subtitles in Spanish. PALM HONEY is a syrup manufactured in the island of La Gomera, one of the seven Canary Islands.

The process is as follows:

  1. The upper leaves of the palm are removed (Phoenix canariensis).
  2. The top is cut until the man gets to the soft white part that forms the “core” of the palm.
  3. A channel is placed to collect the sap produced from this “wound”.
  4. The cut must “heal” daily at dusk to mane the sap during the night. During the day, the sun’s heat would spoil the liquid.
  5. At dawn, the craftsman collects the liquid and boil it for a long time until it becomes a sweet, thick black liquid.

This is an excellent food, very good flavor and with many properties.

The palm does not die by this process and quickly recovers. Every five years or so, it can again be tapped”. The best time is summer and extraction is most popular in the areas of Taguluche, Tazo, El Ingenio and Alojera.

You can buy different types of palm honey from the Canary Islands in the Honey Section of our Shop.

Palm Honey Video – Miel de palma de La Gomera

Canarius | Monday February 15th, 2010 |

Great video, showing the traditional process of palm honey production.

You can buy different types of palm honey from the Canary Islands in the Honey Section of our Shop.

Miel de palma de La Gomera

La miel de palma es un sirope que se fabrica en la isla de La Gomera, una de las siete Islas Canarias.

El proceso es el siguiente:

  • Se cortan las hojas superiores de la palmera (Phoenix canariensis).
  • Se rebaja el cogollo hasta encontrar la parte blanda y blanca que forma la “médula” del tronco.
  • Se coloca un canal para que mane la savia que produce esta “herida” en la palmera.
  • El corte debe “curarse” diariamente al oscurecer para que mane la savia durante la noche. Si se hiciera de día, el calor del sol estropearía el líquido.
  • Al amanecer, el artesano recoge el líquido y lo hierve durante mucho tiempo hasta que obtiene un líquido dulce, espeso y negro: la Miel de Palma de la Gomera.

Se trata de un excelente alimento, de muy buen sabor y con muchas propiedades curativas y dietéticas. Las palmera no mueren por este proceso y cada cinco años, aproximadamente, pueden volver a ser convertidas en “guaraperas“.

La mejor época para la extracción es el verano y las zonas más famosas son las de Taguluche, Tazo, AlojeraEl Ingenio.