Manuka honey
Apis mellifera · Leptospermum scoparium nectar · Sweetener
Top 10 pairings
Manuka honey is a dark, thick monofloral honey made by bees foraging the manuka bush (Leptospermum scoparium) of New Zealand and southeastern Australia. Cream-to-brown, viscous and often thixotropic — a soft gel at rest that thins when stirred — it carries an earthy, mineral, faintly medicinal flavour quite unlike the light floral sweetness of clover or acacia honey. It is prized above all for an unusually high content of methylglyoxal (MGO), which gives it a strong non-peroxide antibacterial activity; graded by UMF or MGO and sold at a steep premium, it is eaten both as a robust table honey and used medicinally.
Picking a good onedrag
Bright, clean, purely floralFrothing, winey, fizzing
Open in the cupboardEveryday honeyNever give honey to a baby under 12 months, not even baked, warmed or cooked.
Hold the jar to the lightFaint haze or first fine crystals
Turn the jar and lift a spoonfulSo thick a spoon stands a moment
Lid, seal and labelSound jar, country but no blossom
Smell it off a clean spoonFaint and delicate: acacia, clover
These cues are Honey's, and hold across its varieties; where this one differs, its own page says so.