The only working sugar cane honey factory in southern Europe is in Malaga and it is celebrating its 300th anniversary this year

Eugenio Cabezas

Axarquía

Monday, 21 April 2025, 16:39

Sugar cane honey was introduced to the Iberian Peninsula from Asia during the Muslim rule and then taken to America by Christopher Columbus. For more than five centuries and until just sixty years ago sugar cane honey formed part of the landscape and economy of Malaga province. Of the dozens of sugar mills along the Costa del Sol, the only one is still in operation today is in Frigiliana in the east of Malaga province. The Nuestra Señora del Carmen factory, owned by Sociedad de la Torre S.L., produces some 500 tonnes of sugar cane honey a year, which it markets in Spain and around 12 other countries.

Nuestra Señora del Carmen de Frigiliana factory dates back to 1725, with antecedents in the 17th century when it was preceded by the sugar mill founded by Íñigo Manrique de Lara, the first Count of Frigiliana. It will celebrate its 300th anniversarys in September.

The mill is today powered by electricity and still grinds sugar cane a few days a year. The mill train was manufactured and installed by the Díaz de Vélez-Málaga workshops in the 1950s. It also conserves other traditional technological elements such as the filters and the pailas. Its two hexagonal chimneys also stand out. Nowadays, most of the juice needed to make sugar cane honey is imported from other countries, which bring the molasses by ship from South America.

Nuestra Señora del Carmen sugar cane honey factory is a Baroque-style factory whose façade is decorated with sgraffito work reproducing geometric motifs and imitation brickwork. It was always an industrial building and there are doubts as to whether it was also used as a palatial residence.

It is in a good state of conservation and has been divided into two spaces. One of them was for industrial use with an access gallery, two milling rooms, two kitchens, two curdling benches and a bleaching room. To the right was the other space with storage and pilleras and with independent access. On the upper floor there were living quarters for employees and offices. The factory is not a protected building despite its age.

The sales manager of the Frigiliana factory, Javier Mesa de la Torre, explained to SUR that they produce an average of 500 tonnes of sugar cane honey a year, which they sell in the main supermarkets in Spain, including Mercadona, Dani, Más, Maskom, Carrefour, Más y Más and El Corte Inglés, among others. They also export around five of their production to a dozen European countries, including Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Italy, Ireland, Belgium, Holland, Sweden, Denmark and France, among others. In addition, in 2023 the company launched its first honey rum liqueur, which is sold throughout Spain.

On a recent visit to the factory, president of the Mancomunidad association of town halls in the Axarquia, Jorge Martín, said that the factory is "a jewel of heritage and landscape interest, a bastion of the most deeply-rooted agricultural tradition of the Axarquía and Malaga areas, and linked to popular dishes of the gastronomy of this land".

"This palatial building is located in one of the municipalities that attracts most visitors to the province. Frigiliana, for its beauty, location and upkeep is one of the key tourist attractions in Malaga; and the sugar cane honey factory enhances its appeal," Martín said. The factory will be open to the public on the first weekend in May on the occasion of Frigiliana's annual sugar cane honey day.

"Its quality and flavour is known throughout Europe where it is increasingly in demand in supermarkets and restaurants. It is known in many towns and cities, and with it the name of the Axarquía and Frigiliana. We can see this at all the national and international tourism fairs we attend," said Martín, adding that the Mancomunidad promotes the destination with local products including sugar cane honey, extra virgin olive oil and muscatel raisins. These three products are accompanied by a map of the area with the QR codes of the 31 villages that make up the Axarquía.