Honey

They grade how much methylglyoxal, or MGO, the honey contains, in milligrams per kilogram. MGO 400 means at least 400mg of it in every kilogram of honey. Higher numbers mean a stronger, more medicinal flavour and a higher price. The jars we carry run from MGO 50 up to MGO 1000.

They measure different things, so compare like with like. MGO counts methylglyoxal alone. UMF is a graded system that also checks leptosperin and DHA, two further markers of authentic mānuka. As a rough conversion, UMF 5+ is about MGO 83, UMF 10+ about MGO 263, UMF 15+ about MGO 514 and UMF 20+ about MGO 829. On this page, M&H and Tahi label by UMF, Honey Paihia, Kai Ora and Matakana Superfoods label by MGO, and BEE&FLOW prints both.

For everyday eating, anything from MGO 50 to MGO 263, or UMF 5+ to 10+, is plenty and tastes closest to ordinary honey. The middle of the range, MGO 400 to 550 or UMF 15+, carries more of the mānuka character. Above MGO 800 or UMF 20+ the flavour turns properly medicinal and the price climbs steeply, so those jars are usually bought by the spoonful rather than for toast.

Because of the brand, the jar size and the grading system, not the honey being weaker. In our range a 250g jar at UMF 10+ ranges from about $21 to $36 depending on the producer, and a 500g jar costs less per gram than two 250g jars of the same grade. Check the grams as well as the number on the front, since 120g, 250g, 400g and 500g jars sit side by side here.

Monofloral means the bees worked mainly mānuka; multifloral means a larger share of other flowers went into the same hive. New Zealand's Ministry for Primary Industries sets the line with a science definition of five attributes: four chemical markers plus a DNA marker from mānuka pollen. Both are genuine mānuka honey. Multifloral sits lower on the scale and costs less, which is why our Tahi Multifloral MGO 50+ is one of the cheaper mānuka jars here.

No. Health New Zealand and the Ministry for Primary Industries both advise that honey of any kind, raw or cooked, should not be given to infants under 12 months, because of the risk of infant botulism. That applies to mānuka exactly as it does to any other honey. Honey is fine for older children and for adults, including during pregnancy.

They are New Zealand honeys named for the flowers the bees worked, and they are not graded on MGO. Rewarewa is dark, malty and caramel-like. Pohutukawa is pale, soft and buttery. Bush and native blends are mild and easy, which is what makes them the everyday jars. They cost a fraction of mānuka, so buy mānuka for the grade and these for the toast.

Crystallising is what raw honey does, and it is a sign the honey has not been heavily processed. Stand the jar in warm, not boiling, water for a while and stir, and it loosens again. Keep honey below 25 degrees C, out of direct sunlight, and never in the fridge, which speeds crystallising up.