Ingredients through time
Honey and Beekeeping in Morocco: A History
Long before cane sugar, there was honey, and in Morocco it remains treasured — drizzled over pastries, stirred into remedies and prized by variety, from fragrant thyme honey to the bitter, sought-after euphorbia. Behind it lies an ancient beekeeping heritage, including one of the oldest known collective apiaries in the world.
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- 7 min
- Topic
- Ingredients through time
- Updated
- 19 July 2026
At a glance
- Honey is an ancient sweetener and remedy in Morocco, predating cane sugar.
- Distinctive mountain honeys include thyme and euphorbia (daghmous).
- Morocco has a deep beekeeping tradition, including the historic Inzerki collective apiary.
The oldest sweetener
Before sugar became widely available, honey was the principal sweetener across the Mediterranean and the Islamic world, and it kept its prestige in Morocco even after sugar arrived. It carried associations of purity, health and blessing, valued in the Islamic tradition as a wholesome food and remedy.
In the kitchen it sweetened and glazed, and in folk medicine it was taken for all manner of ailments — a food, a treat and a cure in one.
Honeys of the mountains
Morocco's varied landscapes produce a remarkable range of honeys, each taking its character from the plants the bees forage, and connoisseurs prize particular types highly.
- Thyme honey: fragrant and herbal, from the wild thyme of the hills.
- Euphorbia (daghmous) honey: a rare, pungent, slightly bitter honey with a peppery catch.
- Orange-blossom honey: delicate and floral, from citrus groves.
- Carob and wildflower honeys: darker, robust honeys from mixed forage.
An ancient craft
Beekeeping in Morocco is old and, in places, remarkably communal. The traditional collective apiary at Inzerki, in the Souss region, is often described as one of the oldest and largest of its kind, a great terraced structure of stacked hives maintained by a whole community — a striking monument to the antiquity of the craft.
Honey remains central to Moroccan sweets and hospitality. Read on with the history of Moroccan pastries and the history of chebakia and Ramadan sweets.
Frequently asked questions
Is honey important in Moroccan cuisine?
Very. Honey is an ancient sweetener that predates widely available cane sugar and kept its prestige afterward. It sweetens and glazes pastries like chebakia, features in sweet-savoury dishes and remedies, and carries associations of health and blessing.
What kinds of honey does Morocco produce?
Morocco produces a wide range, including fragrant thyme honey, rare and slightly bitter euphorbia (daghmous) honey, delicate orange-blossom honey, and robust carob and wildflower honeys. Each takes its character from the plants the bees forage.
What is the Inzerki apiary?
Inzerki, in the Souss region, is a traditional collective apiary often described as one of the oldest and largest of its kind — a large terraced structure of stacked hives maintained communally. It reflects the antiquity and communal nature of Moroccan beekeeping.
Why is euphorbia honey special?
Euphorbia, or daghmous, honey is a rare mountain honey with a pungent, slightly bitter flavour and a distinctive peppery catch at the back of the throat. Its scarcity and unusual taste make it highly prized and expensive.