The Rowse Honey Campaign for Real Manuka

I’ve been a Manuka Honey user for many years now, as have my parents; my dad has it in place of sugar in his early morning cup of tea and mum uses it in baking and cooking as well as a sweetener for porridge and pancakes. Manuka honey was a well-kept Maori secret, but we all know about now; produced in New Zealand from bees who forage from Manuka bushes, the Maoris  discovered it’s anti-bacterial and healing properties decades ago. As well as boosting your immune system, this super ingredient also tastes delicious and is wonderful when used in Hot Toddy style beverages. Other special properties that Manuka honey is known for, is helping with skin conditions, aiding digestion, boosting energy and it’s an anti-inflammatory too.

But, all is not well with Manuka Honey, its production and the way it is sold; the Manuka Honey scandal has been widely known for some time now, insofar as there appeared to be WAY more “Manuka Honey” being sold than was produced, in a nutshell, some honey was being sold as Manuka when it clearly wasn’t. In an attempt to regularise the labelling of this super ingredient, the British company Rowse Honey, has stepped up its testing in order to reassure customers that their Manuka Honey is the genuine article. All Rowse Manuka Honey is tested twice for its authenticity; at source in New Zealand and again on arrival in the UK, by testing it twice Rowse ensures that customers are getting the real deal every time.

Rowse then set up their Campaign for Real Manuka Honey…….basically, they pledge that all their Manuka has been produced by honeybees feasting on the nectar of New Zealand Manuka trees – or Leptospermum Scoparium to be technical, and therefore each pot has a substantial amount of methyglyoxal, or MGO. MGO is the active component in Manuka Honey which dictates the level of Non-peroxide Activity (NPA) within each jar, which gives it the strength indicator of 5+, 10+ or 15+. Current UK guidelines don’t state what the minimum levels of MGO should be, meaning that other brands can sell products with little or no MGO content, under the Manuka name, which is where the scandal started.

In order the to get message across, Rowse Honey has sent me a jar of their 10+ Manuka Honey in order to create a new beverage recipe. And, with winter approaching in the UK and Europe, I decided to develop a recipe that will fight colds and flu’, based on a traditional Hot Toddy and Lemon and Honey drink; my recipe for Hot Buttered Spiced Cider is a delicious hot beverage packed with vitamins and the essential immune boosting Manuka Honey. The butter helps to soothe sore throats and the cider and brandy (if you add it) helps you “sweat it out”, if you have flu’. However, it also tastes delicious and would make a wonderful cold weather “pick-me-up” too. The recipe is shared below, so do try it out this winter before, during or after a cold! Karen 

Disclaimer: I was sent a jar of 10+ Rowse Manuka Honey and I was paid to create this recipe. I was not asked to write a positive review and all the opinions in this article are my own.

Hot Buttered Spiced Cider

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Serves	1
Prep time	2 minutes
Cook time	3 minutes
Total time	5 minutes
Meal type	Beverage
Misc	Serve Hot
Occasion	Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving
Region	British
By author	Karen Burns-Booth

A delicious winter beverage that is packed with vitamins and infection fighting Manuka honey; perfect to ward off colds and flu' or just as a comforting fire-side drink.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon Manuka 10+ honey
• juice of half a lemon
• 1 teaspoon softened butter
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 mug of cider or apple juice (about 150mls)

Optional

• 1 tablespoon brandy

Note

A delicious winter beverage that is packed with vitamins and infection fighting Manuka honey; perfect to ward off colds and flu' or just as a comforting fire-side drink.

Directions

Step 1	Put the honey, lemon juice, butter and cinnamon into a pan and heat gently until the honey has dissolved and the butter has melted.
Step 2	Add the cider or apple juice and heat until piping hot, but not boiling. Add the brandy if using.
Step 3	Pour into a heat proof mug and drink straight away.