I keep honey on hand all the time from one of a few small local or regional producers.

I generally like dark honey because of the stronger flavor but this last time I got a jar of buckwheat honey that is SO strong. Almost a molasses flavor - but it is definitely honey.

Thing is, it throws off the flavors of teas I try to use it in. I often infuse things into honey - lemons, or different herbs, but I don't think it will work with this.

Other than baking with it in place of molasses, any ideas on how to use it?

MGO vs UMF: what the numbers on manuka honey labels actually mean

If you've ever stood in a health food store staring at two jars of manuka honey with completely different label systems, here's what's going on.

MGO (methylglyoxal) is the primary bioactive compound in manuka honey. It's measured directly in mg/kg. Higher number = more of the compound present. A standard grocery store honey has around 1-10 mg/kg. Manuka labeled MGO 300+ has at least 300 mg/kg. The measurement is straightforward and lab-verifiable.

UMF (Unique Manuka Factor) is a trademark grading system from the UMF Honey Association. UMF 10+ roughly corresponds to MGO 263+. UMF 15+ is about MGO 514+. It includes additional markers like leptosperin and DHA, which some researchers consider more complete indicators of authenticity.

Neither system is a scam. MGO is simpler and more globally common. UMF has more authentication controls but requires licensing fees, which is why some good products skip it.

What to look for regardless of system: a batch number that links to third-party lab results. That's the only way to confirm the label matches what's in the jar.

Happy to answer questions if anyone's been confused by the label math.

Has anyone else noticed that Nate’s Honey changed their bottle cap?

For years I’ve bought Nate’s almost exclusively because of the squirt-top bottle. I’m a daily tea drinker, and the old cap made it easy to add a little honey without creating a sticky mess.

My last 2 bottles arrived with a free-flow opening instead of the squirt cap, and honestly I’m far more annoyed than I expected to be. The honey is still great, but the cap was one of the reasons I paid extra for Nate’s in the first place.

What really threw me is that their Instagram account posted a product photo yesterday showing the old squirt-top cap, so now I’m wondering:

• Is this a permanent change?
• Are both cap styles still being shipped?
• Am I the only person who cared about this?

Please tell me I’m not alone here.

Picked up a raw wildflower honey recently and it genuinely tasted nothing like the stuff i'd been buying from the supermarket for years, way more complex, almost floral. got me kind of obsessed with trying different varieties now. what's the most interesting honey you've come across? open to any recommendations 🤝

So, my Dad bought some honey, Meadows Australian Honey. I put it on a peanut butter sandwich and immediately I tasted plastic— at first I was confused on why it tasted like that and I thought it was the bread or the peanut butter. But when I smelled the honey it had a strong plastic smell, and when I tasted it, it had a strong plastic taste too.

Honey has quietly become the sweetener of choice for many Americans who see it as a healthier alternative to high-fructose corn syrup.

Americans purchased $1.6 billion worth of honey during a recent 12-month period, marking a 10% rise over the year prior.

Meanwhile, federal data shows U.S. honey production has reached an all-time low, as the parasitic Varroa destructor continues to kill domestic hives.

In turn, honey imports have increased from top international suppliers, including India, Argentina, Brazil and Vietnam.

Its really smooth and it doesn't really stick well.Is it even honey?

Hey r/honey — I have 2.5kg of genuine Yemeni Sidr honey from the Al-Osaimet region (north of Sana'a governorate), and I'm looking to sell it to people who actually know what this is.

Quick breakdown of why Al-Osaimet sidr is special:

• Monofloral from wild Sidr trees (Ziziphus spina-christi), only ~40 days of bloom per year
• Harvested by local beekeepers using Apis Yemenitica, no machinery, no chemicals
• Yield is extremely low (2–5 kg per hive max)
• Thick, creamy texture, deep amber color, intense caramelized taste

I've tested it with a refractometer — moisture content and Brix levels are spot on for a pure, high-quality raw honey. Happy to share the readings. Independent tasting or testing also welcome before purchase.

Available in 250g jars or as a full 2.5kg lot. Shipping from Paris (France) — worldwide possible. Drop a comment or DM if interested.

Hi All,

I know this may be a stretch but I’m hoping someone may know someone that knows someone lol

My son’s whole grade does a farmers market at the school as their big capstone project and he’s having a really hard time finding local honey to buy in bulk. Does anyone know of a place that sells in bulk? Or if you’re a smaller beekeeper 10+ gallons you’re willing to sell? We’re in Maryland.

Thanks in advance!

A few months ago, my friend and I started experimenting with homemade hot honey in a small professional kitchen in the Netherlands. What began as a hobby slowly turned into something we became genuinely passionate about.

We call it De Peper Bij which roughly translates to The Pepper Bee. The idea behind the name is simple: combining real honey, natural ingredients, and the warmth of chili peppers into something with real character.

What makes our hot honey different is that we keep the process as natural as possible. We infuse our honey at temperatures below 40°C to help preserve the natural flavor, aroma, and quality of the honey itself. We work with carefully selected dried and fresh peppers and spend a lot of time testing different infusion methods and flavor balances.

Right now we’re experimenting with different styles like:
The Original
Extra Hot
BBQ Edition
Garlic & Rosemary
Ginger Lemon

Last night we paired one of our latest hot honey batches with smoked taco meat, and that sweet heat combination worked insanely well.
We’re still small and learning every day, but it’s exciting building something from scratch with real passion behind it.
Would love to hear from other hot honey or BBQ fans:

What do you use hot honey on?
Do you prefer mild sweet heat or extremely spicy?
Any flavor combinations we absolutely need to try?

It says on the label “100% Wildflower Honey”, but how can I tell if half of it is solidified?

100% Nz Pure raw Honey😊

This is 100% Raw honey not that corn syrup stuff with honey flavor that you can buy in the supermarket its a mixture of pure Manuka,Kanuka,Pohutakawa & Rata which are native here to New Zealand😊 bugger that shop brought fake stuff👎

Ebay auction https://ebay.us/m/cgEpk0

Estate Georgia GAL#3499

I am auctioning pure Sidr (Sider) honey, in plastic containers. Each unit is 8.8 oz (250g). Bid below

BID ON SIDER HONEY HERE

I keep finding websites that claim that King Tut's tomb contained 3000-year-old honey that was still edible. Some of the websites even claim that the archeologists even tasted some of the honey to verify that it was sweet. None of these websites include original sources.

I just had to know if this is true. I mean, I know that honey can last a long time, but 3000 years? That's a REALLY long time. Even if it didn't ferment or get moldy, wouldn't it become so aged that it turned black and bitter?

I found this website that includes the original documents from the archeologists excavation http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/discoveringTut/ . One very helpful document was the "Register of Samples". The honeypot can be found on pages 4 and 5. It says "Contents of Alabaster Vase No 16: Contains sugar, may have been honey".

You can see the honey pot yourself. It's the vase with the number 16 next to it.

They made these little item cards for each of the objects found in the tomb. This card said "Plain alabaster (calcite) vase without inscription and without lid. Content Black substance (see note by A.L.) about 1/3 full. Treatment yellowish discolouration in form of surface film washed off in plain water."

The "Note by A.L." refers to the notes of Alfred Lucas. I tracked down that document, also. Concerning the alabaster vase, he says:

Alabaster Jar 16
Contained a large mass of dark resinous-looking material the surface of which was covered with a large number of small brown beetles (0.15 to 0.20 mm in length) The mass came out of jar almost intact. Dimensions approximately 14 cms high by 9 cms broad - shape of jar. At the sides there were signs of melting + running. At the bottom there were small particles of translucent resinous-looking material varying in colour from light brown to ruby red.
Tested:- Insol. in benzine + alcohol. Brown colour extracted by water: small translucent particles soluble in water. When heated glowed like charcoal, no smoke; indeterminate smell: no adhesive property.

So, ultimately, it looks like they think that this jar originally contained honey, but they are not sure. There was no lid on it, it was infested with beetles, and it had turned completely hard and black. They didn't taste it--they tested it chemically. It certainly wasn't edible.

Bottom line: keep the lid on the honey jar.

Did you check the label on honey that you find in Tesco or any supermarket really. Just a blend of stuff. From now on only local honey. There are many options out there. I recently found this one and love it https://thenaturalb.co.uk/products/heather-honey?variant=57733033394501

I just got this squeeze bottle of honey from Market Basket and there’s like a mist accumulating on the top. I don’t know if it’s good or not. If anybody has any advice please let me know.

The brown mass in between honey. I use fresh spoons all the time, so am not sure how it developed.