New Zealand honey.

[ER2]

When I was in England recently a certain type of honey from New Zealand - manuca? - was praised for its health benefits. While not presented as a "cure-all" it was said to be beneficial in treating ailments like colds and sore throats. Does anyone know if this type of honey can be found in Toronto?

[ER2]

Thanks, fellow CHs for your advice. I went to the SLM this afternoon and now, for a mere $35.00, have my first pot of Manuka honey!

[jayt90]

Ontario clover honey has always been good for soothing sore throats or cold sores. Could Manuka be better, at 10x the price? These are not cures, just amelioration.

[graydyn]

The idea is that Manuka contains an antibacterial/anitfungal compound called Methylglyoxal that other honeys don't have. This is of course very likely shenanigans meant to sell expensive honey.

[gimel]

The antibacterial activity of this honey is legit enough for there to be FDA approval of honey-based wound dressing material. There is reasonable data to suggest such dressings also help speed up wound and burn healing. I haven't seen anything reliable in terms of non-topical efficacy.

Of course, most colds are viral in nature, so all this expensive honey will be doing for you in that circumstance is soothing your throat, just like el-cheapo billy bee.

I bought some of the PC manuka honey out of curiosity - it's dark and has a vaguely herbal/medicinal flavour that, while not exactly unpleasant to me, won't prompt me to buy it again.

[carissima]

The guy at SLM sells the Manuka honey from NZ for about 10 doll a 500 gr jar. Very similar honey I have seen at Whole Foods for 79 doll a jar.
I wonder how it is different...

[Entore]

Hi ER2,

You might be thinking of Manuka honey. You can get different concentrations of this product at some health food stores, or at Honey World, SLM (93 St. Lawrence St. E.) basement level. Alternatively, you can import this directly from NZ, although how this works through customs is a question. Here is a link to more info. if you are interested. www.manukahealth.co.nz . Be prepared, this type of honey is not cheap. :)

[jlunar]

Manuka honey! David's Tea has it on offer as well, but I have no idea on quality. Tastes really herbal.

[DrewStar]

In the basement of St. Lawrence Market South building there is a great honey stall called Honey World (http://www.stlawrencemarket.com/shopp...) that sells just about all kinds of honey. It is of the finest quality and the owner is happy to let you sample all of them if you want. He has some excellent manuka honey there.

Also surprisingly you can get manuka honey under the President's Choice label at Loblaws and its affiliates. I figured manuka honey was a strange and rare item, then I found it on the shelf at No Frills. That said, I believe the honey for sale at the St.Lawrence Market is superior in terms of its medicinal properties (also more expensive).

[AverageJo]

I second that: Go to Honey World in SLM. The owner has the most comprensive selection of honey I've ever seen, lots from NZ and other countries. And as DrewStar notes, he really loves what he sells and enthusiastically offers samples. A great little store.

But yes, Manuka honey is **expensive**. Even a small jar will set you back $30 or thereabouts.

[mikeb]

The Presidents choice label Manuka (Tea Tree) honey tastes pretty good. And it's dirt cheap. Imported from Australia IIRC.

[Crispier Crouton]

Virtually any health food store will sell it. Ambrosia for one (at Yonge and Doncaster) has a whole bunch, with different potencies. President's Choice offers one, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't have much of the active ingredients, and isn't of very good quality.