Honeydew
Sweet Precious Treasure From The Forest
Honey is collected by honeybees from nectar sources in flowers, plants, fieldcrops and tree blossoms. Honeydew is produced by honeybees collecting nectar that is secreted by another insect. Most of the insects that secrete this type of nectar are called aphids. These aphids feed by drawing sap off the microscopic sugar vessels found in the outer layers of trees. They absorb nutrients from this sap, but most of the sugars are excreted by the insect as little droplets and deposited like snails trails up and down the trunks of the trees, shining like dew in the early morning sun. The smell of the dew is sweet and draws the bees to gather it. This honeydew, which is a sugar-rich sticky substance, is processed by the honey bee into a dark, strong honey. Here at Rowse, we call our Honeydews 'Forest Honey'.
Richly Delicious - And Good For You
The exciting news is that Honeydew honeys are reported to have specific medicinal properties. They tend to be lower in glucose and fructose than floral honeys but contain more complex sugars. These sugars - known as oligosaccharides - are helpful in maintaining and promoting beneficial bacteria in the gut (probiotic bacteria) particularly after a person has been treated with antibiotics. As such, oligosaccharides are classed by physicians as prebiotics. A prebiotic is a food that prepares the digestive system by forming a substrate on which probiotics can seed themselves and proliferate. Also, Honeydew has a very high degree of antibacterial activity which has been compared by some academics and clinicians with that of Manuka.
These are the Honeydew honeys in the Rowse range