Mad honey is dark and reddish in color and is known as deli bal in Turkey. This honey has an ingredient known as grayanotoxin in it, which comes from the nectar of a rhododendron flower. It is a natural neurotoxin that, even in tiny amounts, can give people a light-headed feeling and sometimes even hallucinations. Back in the 1700s in the Black Sea region, they traded the honey with Europe. The Europeans added the honey to their drinks, which gave the drinkers a bigger kick than ever before.
When someone has way too much of the honey, it can cause irregular heartbeat, low blood pressure, blurred vision, nausea, fainting, serious hallucinations, and even death. In modern times, there are still cases of mad honey poisoning, especially with travelers, who just have to give it a try.
Some people may wonder why we are not all going out of our way to get our ‘kicks’ from this potent goop. Well, even though rhododendron flowers grow all over the world, the ones that contribute to mad honey can generally only be found in the Black Sea region of Turkey.
There are over 700 different species of this flower in the world, but as far as we know, only two or three contain grayanotoxin. Doctor Süleyman Türedi from the Karadeniz Technical University of Medicine in Trabzon studies deli bal’s effects and has seen over 200 cases of poisoning.
Even though this product makes up a very small percentage of the region’s honey production, the locals believe it to be a type of medicine, rather than poison. They actually use it to treat diabetes mellitus, some stomach diseases, and hypertension. Some of the Turkish people even use this honey to improve their sexual performance.
The humid slopes of the mountains in the Black Sea are the perfect breeding ground for these poisonous flowers. When bees make their honey in these fields, it is not contaminated by any other nectar, which makes is super pure and potent.
The honey is typically taken in small amounts, sometimes added to boiled milk, and normally consumed before breakfast – not smeared on toast or stirred into tea as normal honey would be used. The beekeepers have an incentive to keep the fields going because of the popularity of this interesting product.
So, if you want to give it a try, Turkey is the place to go.
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