This honey looks like a magical elixir from a faraway land! On 16th February 2021, Centauri Honey (Turkey) broke the world record for most expensive honey. This heavenly ambrosia carried a hefty price tag of £8,700/kg (€10,000/kg). As you would imagine, this nectar is very different from conventional honey.
The costliest honey in the world is 'Elvish honey', which is a rare and expensive variety produced in Turkey's Black Sea region.
1. Manuka. Manuka Honey comes from New Zealand. It is harvested from the blooms of Manuka trees that grow abundantly there.
Manuka honey is more expensive than most other honey because it is rare and only produced in Australia and New Zealand. The flowers the bees collect the nectar from, to make Manuka honey are from the Leptospermum family, which is native to Australia. Farming Manuka honey costs more to produce than other honeys.
Pitcairn honey is considered the rarest and purest honey in the world.
Types of honey
You can buy it: Raw: Raw honey comes straight from the hive. “Raw honey is the least processed and probably has the most antioxidants,” Ilic says. Despite its raw status, it's considered safe to eat except for children younger than 1, who should avoid all honey.
Look & smell – Pure honey is always cloudy and not shiny in appearance and it has a hint of flowery smell, whereas an impure honey might be shiny, transparent and gives out the smell of sugary syrup.
Australian honey is highly sought after in global markets for its unique tastes and strong reputation for being produced cleanly and sustainably. All around Australia honey bees visit more than 700 native flowering plants to collect nectar and pollen to produce honey.
Woolworths Pure Blend Honey has a malty, mild floral flavour and is 100% natural.
Tim Malfroy produces some of the world's best honey in the pristine world heritage Blue Mountains of Australia. Malfroy's honey is a great representation of the terroir of the Blue Mountains with its complex flora and pure environment. The depth of flavour is amazing; this honey is something special.
Capilano honey is 100% pure Australian honey. There's absolutely nothing added, it's just as nature intended.
Put simply, raw, natural, pure, unfiltered, and real honey is essentially the same thing – 100% honey. This means is the honey in the jar was made by bees, not in a factory. If you are looking to buy raw honey, you have come to the right place!
THE MOST EXPENSIVE HONEY IN THE WORLD COMES FROM TURKEY
Nicknamed 'Turkey's liquid gold,' Centauri Honey sells for more than $12,000 a kilo and is one of the rarest and most nutrient-packed and medicinally beneficial of all varieties.
Definition of Anzer Honey
It contains the highest valuable ingredients coming from 500 different plant varieties in Anzer Plateau. 80 of these different flowers are endemic and only grows on the Anzer plateau.
Supermarket honey could be a blend of Australian and overseas honey, or it could be mixed with a sugar syrup. So you could be paying a good price for something that isn't pure. The higher-quality honeys are likely to be blended with cheaper, less tasty honeys to reduce the cost for the company.
More is more: Australia's unmatchable variety of Manuka
The diversity of Australia's Manuka trees is vastly superior to New Zealand. Australia is home to 83 species of Manuka, 12 of which have bioactive, medicinal properties, making them ideal for high-MGO Manuka production. In comparison, New Zealand has only one.
Even though honey doesn't have an expiration date, it can still undergo natural changes. The National Honey Board says that over time honey may “darken and lose its aroma and flavour or crystallize,” depending on changes in temperature.
All honey defined and labelled as AMHA AUTHORISED must be produced in Australia, and be tested by an independent approved laboratory to ensure that it meets the following criteria when packed: ≥ 30 mg/kg (or ppm) methylglyoxal (MGO) ≥ 60 mg/kg (or ppm) dihydroxyacetone (DHA)
Normal Changes. Even though honey doesn't have an expiration date, it can still undergo natural changes. The National Honey Board says that over time honey may “darken and lose its aroma and flavor or crystallize,” depending on changes in temperature.
Honey can be frozen. It will remain liquid when it thaws out. To reliquify crystallized honey, heat it in a pan of warm water, microwave it, (keep temperatures under 110 degrees) or put it on the dashboard of your car on a hot day & watch it go liquid again!
The Warm Water Test: Add a teaspoon of honey to a glass of warm water. If the honey is pure, then it will sink to the bottom of the glass as a lump or stick to the spoon when the mixture is stirred. If the honey is adulterated with any kind of syrup, it will dissolve in the water.