Manuka Honey

Honey has never been my cup of tea. From way back I recall putting a spoonful of this liquid gold into a glass and dissolve it over hot water for a drink. Then there were the occasional sandwich of honey and cheese or margarine and the relatively more frequent honey-glazed chicken and honey-baked ham.

Recently, I decided to buy a small bottle of manuka honey so as avail myself to its much touted goodness. Its name is derived from the manuka bush in New Zealand which the bees help to pollinate. From what I have read, this type of honey is sought after for its purported ability to reduce high cholesterol and for easing gastrointestinal ailments.

If you wish to know more about the world of honey, please feel free to explore web sites such as Benefits of Honey and Honeyworld. 

What takes the cake for me in this re-adventure with honey is the way I eat it. Hard pressed for time, I launched off by taking spoonful neat and it impressed me pretty much with its alluring sweetness and goodness (at the back of my mind). 

Truth be told, I suspect that the pros or ardent followers also scoop it straight from the pot to consume it a la Winnie the Pooh and those honeycomb raiders on Discovery channel. Never in the wildest dream would I take a spoon of sugar, Marmite or Bovril neat. But, when it comes to honey, yes, you can. It has an amazing sweeter-than-sugar and much-more-pleasant-and-palatable-taste-than-processed-sugar. 

Just take spoonful a day; quick, simple and delicious. Sweetness has suddenly and surprisingly taken on a whole new meaning for me.