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Honey

About Honey

Even though this might sound incredible, people used sweeteners in their food even in ancient times. Interestingly, this was honey, the rightful predecessor of sugar and a popular alternative to refined sugar even today.

Chemically speaking, honey is a supersaturated solution of sugar. Although that might sound off-putting to some people, it is not the same as dissolving a lot of refined sugar in a glass of water. The composition of sugars in it is way different from that of refined sugar. Eating honey in moderation won’t make you obese or diabetic. Moreover, having a teaspoon or two of it is a healthy habit and can boost your body’s immune system. Read this article to know more about it. Having a better understanding of it will help you make the right choices when you are shopping for them.

Different types of honey

When most people shop for it, all they do is to pick up the first bottle that comes across them. The most they might do is to check the list of ingredients to check whether there are any artificial additives in it. But what most of them don’t know is the fact that not all honey is the same. In fact, it is possible to classify it into tens of different categories. Each one of them will have a unique colour, texture, taste, and nutritional value. However, here is a list of the four most popular types that you can buy.

Acacia honey

This is probably the most popular variety. If you see honey in television adverts or on billboards, there is a really high chance that it is acacia type. This is because acacia has the perfect amber colour and smooth consistency. Acacia home is also less likely to crystallize. The light floral taste of this honey is also palpable for most people. It doesn’t leave any bitter aftertaste in the mouth either. All of this is because of the higher concentration of fructose. Low sucrose level in it makes it safe for even diabetic people to have.

Manuka honey

Unlike acacia type, manuka has a thicker consistency and is a few shades darker. Although it might not have the picturesque appearance of the acacia type, it is rich in antibacterial agents and nutrients. Manuka type comes from bees that exclusively feed on tea tree flowers. No, this is not the same plant as tea plants that tea leaves come from. Tea tree is a completely different species. Studies show that Manuka honey can be good for healing burns and diabetic ulcers because of its antibacterial property.

Wildflower honey

This type, in fact, comes from multiple sources. In this case, bees will feed on different types of wildflowers to produce honey. Such kinds are sometimes exclusively taken from the wild. Because of this, the colour, consistency, and taste of wildflower type can vary considerably depending on the geographic location and even the time of the year. But generally, wildflower honey tends to be darker than acacia type. Because this comes from a lot of different flowers, it will contain a variety of different nutrients than the honey that comes from farm fed bees.

Clover honey

It is one of the best sources of antibacterial agents. While manuka type also has antibacterial properties, there are some few key differences. Clover honey does not contain methylglyoxal and therefore does not need hydrogen peroxide to activate the antibacterial property. This makes clover type more of a narrow-spectrum antimicrobial agent while manuka honey is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent. Another unique feature of clover honey is the presence of phenolic compounds. This makes clover honey especially effective against Bacillus, pseudomonas, and staphylococcus species of bacteria.

Tips on how to buy Honey

Finding a honey that is right for you can be harder than you think. This is because there are so many different types of them. Even the same type of honey displays various characteristic depending on the geographic location. All that being said, is there a way to find the honey that is perfect for your needs? Luckily there is. If you know what criteria to consider in them, it is relatively easy. Here are a few tips that you can follow when you are shopping for them.

  • Type of honey – There are a lot of different types of honey. Depending on the primary source of food of the bees, the taste, colour, and consistency of the honey changes. There will be a considerable difference in the nutritional value of the honey as well. Which type of honey you should choose is a matter of personal preference.
  • Sweetness level – Generally, honey that is lighter in colour tends to be sweeter. This is because of the higher sucrose content and a lower concentration of fructose. Depending on the sucrose content, the glycemic index of the honey varies. While for healthy individuals, this is only about the difference in taste, diabetic people should only use honey with a lower glycemic index.
  • Consistency – The type of honey seen in the adverts that are clear and flowing smoothly is the acacia, honey. But not all honey has this consistency. Interestingly some of them, especially raw honey, even have a consistency similar to that of fruit preserves.
  • Raw vs Regular – Raw honey is the unrefined honey. It comes directly from the beehive and only undergoes a simple filtration process that removes large impurities like dead bees and beeswax. This filtered honey is directly bottled without any further processing. To make regular honey from raw honey, it has to go through a further cleaning process for removing pollen.

Honey makes excellent bread spreads, healthier food sweeteners, and food. However, there are other great bread spreads besides honey, including jams, cheese, coconut spreads, peanut butter, and many more. The good news is that you can now find all of them easily using our product search engine. That way, you can also compare the prices of different types of honey and pick the best one out of it. Finally, don’t forget to check out other amazing products from the Food & Beverage category.

Question & Answer

Is honey vegan?

There is a slight controversy regarding honey within the vegan community. Some regard honey to be a vegan food while other vegans completely stay away from honey. People who consider honey to be vegan argue that the primary source of honey is from plants and that it is not necessary to kill the bees in order to extract honey. But those who oppose honey argue that it is impossible to extract honey without harming bees in some form. They say, even farming the bees for honey can be harmful to the health of the bees.

Is honey good for health?

Many people consider honey to be a superfood. It is a rich source of nutrients and can be used as a home remedy for cold and cough. Honey is also an excellent antimicrobial. Applying honey on wounds can kill bacteria and stop the wound from turning into an infection. Another use of honey is as a supplement for sugar. If you are somebody who is trying to cut down sugar consumption and yet want your food to be sweet, then honey is a great choice. But too much of anything is bad, and this applies for honey as well.

Is honey better than sugar?

Refined sugar is a fairly modern invention. But honey is a food sweetener that people have been using for thousands of years. Also, everybody agrees on the fact that honey is a far better alternative to sugar. There are several reasons for this. For one thing, honey is less processed and contains more nutrients than sugar. Because of high fructose concentration, the glycemic index of honey is much lower than that of sugar. Moreover, honey also has several medicinal values. It is, in fact, a better cough suppressant than over the counter cough medications.

If you are looking to buy honey online in the UAE, look no further as you are in the right place. There are more than 500 shops and brands offering them here on Shops.ae. These shops offer products from popular brands like Dabur, Nature Nate’s, Wedderspoon, Wholesome Sweeteners, Desert Creek, Kiva, and Prince & Spring.