Three Interesting Facts about Malaysia Honey
Few days ago, a friend who is practicing Traditional Chinese Medicine talked about local honey in Malaysia during our gathering. She was looking for high quality local honey to be blended into herb powder for her patients.
I then shared her my experience in buying local honey, as I have spent a fair amount of time searching for the best quality honey for my natural soap few years ago.
I believe most of you have heard of Manuka honey from New Zealand and Australia, however, very few of you are aware of our own local honey varieties. I thought you might find these honey facts interesting.
First, do you know that we have one of the biggest bee species in the world?
Apis Dorsata, the giant honey bee, can be found throughout Southeast Asia, ranging from the India subcontinent, up to Southern China and down through Indonesia and Malaysia. Apis Dorsata often builds nest on exposed places far off from the ground such as tree branches or under cliff. In Malaysia, the giant honey bee hives are often found on tall branches of Tualang tree (Koompassia Excelsa), therefore the honey produced by the giant bee is also called Tualang Honey.
Second, do you know that not all bees have stinger?
Meliponini or Kelulut Honey Bee is one of the most common stingless bee farmed in Malaysia. Kelulut honey has a unique sweet and sour taste, and it is more runny than normal honey.
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Third, do you know that the quality of local Tualang Honey is comparable to Manuka Honey?
According to a research, Tualang Honey shares some similar properties and biochemical characteristics with its Western counterpart, Manuka honey. It is also worth noting that Tualang Honey is more effective than Manuka honey against some gram-negative bacterial strains in burn wounds.
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In conclusion, we are blessed with high quality honey in our own country. However, these precious 'liquid gold' is still unknown to most people as Malaysian prefers imported honey over local ones. I hope you will start paying more attention to our local honey after reading this article. Only with the support of local people, our honey bee industry will be able to sustain!
Very informative, Natalie. Thanks for sharing the article. I would be a reader if you are keen to write what are some of the things we can do with honey. Maybe a trivia not many people are aware of. The only thing I know about honey is it makes my sandwich tastes a bit more delicious. xD
I will write more about the benefit of honey on skin in particular! Good idea for adding honey in sandwich, never tried that before XD
Natalie! Didn't know you've been in this platform for a while now! great post! :)
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Thanks for sharing @natalielo. I happen to drink quite a far amount of honey particularly of late due to my cough. However, after chancing upon some news reports about fake honey and all, I have become a bit wary when it comes to purchasing local honey. Perhaps you can share how to spot a genuine an authentic honey vs fake ones. That would be most helpful. Upvoted and followed!
Good quality manuka honey has become staple food in our house since my mum diagnosed with H pylori. For we don't know how to differentiate between the pure and the fake honey , we only buy from well known retailing shops. Appreciate if you could share with us any good local honey suppliers (e.g. bee farm) that you are dealing with. Thanks for the sharing.
Beautiful n great photography
Thanks for this informative post. We rely a lot on honey for minor cough, sore throat and even fever due to it’s anti-bacterial properties. But with a lot of fakies around some of my friends are wary and they do wonder if honey is so easily available here in large quantities. Your post has given me much assurance.
I've been very interested in trying my hands at rearing Stingless Bees (Kelulut). Just as a learning project..
And maybe get a bottle of kelulut honey once in a while.
oh my! next time i'll be buying Tualang Honey since it is comparable to Manuka Honey!
wow, really useful info for me, could you share on how to differentiate fake or real honey in market?