New Zealand has arguably the best tasting honey in the world. “Best” being a subjective opinion; you can’t argue taste and no-one can refute that I like my honey better than anyone else’s. However, one thing that is undeniable is that NZ has one of the purest honeys in the world. Not just from the lower levels of pollution (according to The Herald 19/03/24; NZ is one of only seven countries to meet world air quality standards) and strict controls on the use of pesticides, we also have extremely high-quality controls on all honey produced and sold. A big problem for overseas consumers is honey that has been adulterated, which isn’t an issue for us, as honey is not permitted to be imported into NZ. The problem is that honey can be shipped from country to country and its origin can be disguised. Honey can be diluted with cheaper high fructose corn syrup and sold as the real thing. It is also possible to feed bees just sugar syrup and then jar it and sell it as honey. There are tests available to make sure that the honey doesn’t have sugar added and that it doesn’t have diseases or pesticides. The only type of honey in NZ that could be harmful is honey that has contains tutin. Tutin is a native NZ plant, most of the parts of this plant are deadly, it used to be responsible for considerable stock and pet deaths. There are even two recorded cases of elephants dying from eating tutin! (Poison-honey culprit killed two elephants; Stuff, January 31, 2009). We have two types of honey in New Zealand – floral honey and honeydew. The first is when bees collect nectar from flowers and then transform it into honey. The second is honeydew, whereby tiny scale insects consume sap from a plant (commonly Beech) and excrete a sugar-rich substance with the consistency of nectar, this is collected by worker bees and processed in the same way as nectar. It usually produces a strong flavoured honey (a deep amber colour with a malty, woody taste and a texture like golden syrup). It’s great with cheese, vegetables, and Greek yoghurt). The Australian Passion vine Hopper insect can produce honeydew from tutin for bees to collect; this honey doesn’t affect bees but can be harmful to humans. Very few people have died from tutin poisoned honey, the last was in 1989. Anyone selling honey must have it tested for tutin (a cheap, easy test) if it has been harvested after New Year in the North Island. I don’t know anyone who has had honey that has tested positive for tutin.
Honey is like eating liquid sunshine. A natural food that’s been around even longer than mammals have. Honey is a good source of minerals, vitamins and antioxidants. The sugars in honey are mostly glucose and fructose, rather than the more easily digested, empty calories of sucrose in white sugar. Honey is thought to reduce inflammation in the gut and ease gastrointestinal issues. Manuka honey’s use in dressing wounds is well established and is used in hospitals around the world to treat against superbugs that antibiotics can’t. Honey is used extensively in complementary and traditional medicine. After all, when you have got a cold who didn’t get sent to bed with a hot honey and lemon drink by their mother, or warm honey and whisky by their partner? A teaspoon of honey soothes a sore throat and a cool glass of mead eases a headache. Apiculture (beekeeping) is a Primary Industry in New Zealand, but prices are rock bottom, and the weather has not been kind over the last few years, so please support a beekeeper and buy local honey.
Ken Brown
Apiculture Tutor with Land Based Training Ltd; a new class is starting in August in Riverhead
