Where to Buy Honey?

Any ideas where to buy honey, or rather, where to buy honey that is of high quality?

I love to try the various floral varietals of honey that are available here in Singapore, whether they are from the supermarkets, pharmaceutical shops or honey specialty shops. And while abroad, I make a point to get my hands on their local honey. At any one time, I can have more than ten opened bottles of honey in my kitchen. The best is of course to be able to buy fresh raw honey directly from credible sources and bee farms.

Here, Australian and New Zealand honey such as Superbee honey and Waitemata honey are relatively accessible and their quality is easy to trust. New Zealand's Active Manuka Honey is a big hit with my family, but I always "warn" others before they buy – it's costly and for some people, it tastes like medicine (it's actually known as Medihoney in some pharmacies). It takes an acquired taste for some to appreciate it.

I am fond of exploring and getting the unique honey varieties from the States, for instance Really Really Raw Honey, but unfortunately, they are usually too costly or non-existent in the small shops here. If you are overseas, look for floral varietals that are abundant in the country. For example, if you are in Taiwan, consider getting longan and lychee honey because of there is a great flow of longan and lychee flower nectar in the country. And you might want to check on the authencity when picking up a bottle of peach honey because there is a very limited amount of nectar from the peach flowers in Taiwan. The possibility of getting an adulterated or artificially flavored honey is higher.

Many visitors from different countries ask where to buy honey that's raw or of good quality, but I find it hard to make a recommendation as different countries produce different floral varieties of honey and taste preferences can be very subjective; some like honey strong, others like it mild. Moreover, many types of honey sold here are not available in other parts of the world. Experience tells that honey is aplenty everywhere, but good quality honey can be rare in some countries. Chinese honey for instance can be very interesting in terms of its floral varietals, but I must say after so many fraud cases related to foods from China, I am pretty wary of it. Ideally, buy honey direct from a trusted bee farm or beekeeper. By eating local honey, you not only can better assure the purity and quality of the honey but also help support your local beekeepers.

Related Pages

1. If you are located in Singapore, check out Bee Healthy for a wide range of premium, 100% pure honey from New Zealand, Australia and the United States.

2. Be a smart consumer. Know how to read honey labels: Natural Honey, Pure Honey, Raw Honey ~ Making Sense of Honey Labels.

3. Are you aware of these marketing tactics in food labels: Did You Know Reading Food Label Can Be So Tricky?

4. Important terms and concepts to know when buying honey - pure honey, cream honey versus clear liquid honey, crystallisation of honey, honeycomb, monofloral varietals, darkening of honey, viscous versus runny honey, honey storage, and more in: Frequently Asked Information About Honey.

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