Different between raw honey & Manuka Honey

Once you start delving into the world of honey products, you soon face an array of new terms that are sometimes difficult to understand. Weighing up the merits of various honey products can be a bit confusing. When you go to buy honey online, you will find many types of honey products and diverse opinions on their ratings.

But a common question which often comes up is 'what's the difference between Raw Honey and Manuka Honey?'. So, let's understand it step by step the difference between raw honey & Manuka Honey -

Raw Honey

Raw honey is the honey made from any flower or plant, including Manuka. The reason it is called Raw is as it exists in its natural state. Honey is called raw when it's either in the beehive itself or as obtained by extraction, settling or straining without adding any heat. Sometimes you may find honey labelled as 'Raw' which has actually been processed. Raw honey often includes particles of propolis, wax, and pollen due to lack of processing.

Manuka Honey

Manuka Honey is produced when bees collect nectar from the Manuka tree flowers. Where the Manuka trees dominate the landscape (Common in New Zealand), the hives are filled with Manuka Honey. It contains an enzyme called methylglyoxal (MGO) which is not found in any other type of honey.

As a honey buyer, what can I get from all of this?

The answer to this question depends on your purpose to purchase honey. Both the types have great taste and some special chemical characteristics, but if you are looking for honey with special properties that contain the methylglyoxal (MGO) enzyme, then you must know a few more details before you buy manuka honey online.

The UMF rating system for Manuka Honey

Unfortunately, not all types of Manuka Honey are not equal, and there are several products out there that are being sold as active Manuka honey when actually they are not.

Also, the location of beehives is highly important because a hive surrounded only by Manuka plants will likely yield a more potent form of Manuka Honey, than a hive set amongst Manuka plants surrounded with a wide range of other plants.

Luckily, there is a solution that lets customers buy manuka honey in the UK with confidence, and it's the UMF rating system. This system is autonomous, and it categorises the MGO content of a specific batch of Manuka honey. Check the UMF label on the honey jar - the higher the number, the more active and pure honey is.