Executive Summary:
- Raw honey is minimally filtered to retain its natural creamy texture, complex flavor profile, and beneficial nutrients.
- Processed honey—which describes most commercially produced honey—is heavily filtered and heat-treated, resulting in a runny product with a less varied flavor and fewer beneficial nutrients.
- Manukora holds fast to traditional beekeeping methods—which avoid processing—to preserve Manuka honey’s natural texture, flavor, and impressive nutrient content.
- Raw Manuka honey is a great option for those seeking wellness support as part of a conscious lifestyle—it’s the superior choice.
Raw vs. Processed Honey: Why Unheated Manuka Honey Stands Out
In the world of honey, the conversation buzzes around “raw” versus “processed,” but it’s easy to get lost in the sticky details.
Raw honey is honey that is removed from the hive, lightly strained, and bottled. It doesn’t undergo intensive filtering or heat treatment. This means that it retains its natural nutrient profile, texture, and flavor. In comparison, processed honey is usually heavily filtered and heat-treated. This alters its texture and flavor and breaks down many of its nutrients.
In this article, we take a closer look at unheated Manuka honey and find out why it retains its natural advantages, flavor, and texture.
What Is Raw Honey vs. Processed Honey?
Raw honey is honey that hasn’t been heated or pasteurized and is only minimally filtered to remove large particles (like bits of wax). It’s honey that tastes, looks, and feels like it was just taken out of the hive.
Processed honey, or commercially produced honey, is heated in multiple stages and heavily filtered, which changes its texture, flavor, and nutrient content.
At the end of the day, honey is so much more than a sweetener; it’s a sensory experience. When you compare raw and processed honey, you’ll notice that raw honey often has a creamier—less runny—texture. Interestingly, raw honey also boasts a richer, more complex flavor due to the presence of many different chemical compounds and nutrients.
How Heating Impacts Honey’s Natural Qualities
Commercially, honey is heated to create a uniform texture (reduce crystallization), make the honey more visually appealing (golden liquid), and extend its shelf life. Sadly, this intensive treatment comes at a cost.
Loss of Beneficial Nutrients
Many of the natural and beneficial nutrients in honey, such as enzymes, prebiotics, and antioxidants, are heat-sensitive and break down at high temperatures.
Manuka honey specifically, boasts a rare and high concentration of methylglyoxal (MGO)—a nutrient studied for its antibacterial activity. At high temperatures, the valuable MGO degrades.
Impact on Taste and Texture
Honey has a unique flavor—and it varies depending on the nectar it was produced from. A wide variety of organic compounds enrich its flavor and add to its delicate complexity.
Processing, as discussed above, breaks down many of the sensitive compounds in honey, which flattens its unique flavor. In the quest to create a uniform golden liquid through processing, the honey’s natural, melt-in-your-mouth texture is also lost.
The Natural Properties of Raw Honey
In contrast, the careful handling—and absence of processing—of raw honey preserves the honey’s natural nutrients, its creamy texture, and its flavor integrity. In other words, you get all the beneficial nutrients and depth of flavor, just as Mother Nature intended it.
Why Manukora Uses Traditional, Unheated Practices
At Manukora, we let the bees do the processing—they’re the experts after all! We are committed to our traditional beekeeping methods and avoid heating and processing our Manuka honey—here’s why:
1. Traditional beekeeping methods don’t require processing.
Besides minimal filtering, Manukora’s Manuka honey is the same honey that is harvested from our hives. Its high sugar content acts as a natural preservative. Also, our honey isn’t harvested prematurely and has a very low water content—which protects it from fermentation and naturally prolongs its shelf life. Simply put, processing is unnecessary.
2. Avoiding heat preserves its creamy, rich texture.
Avoiding heat helps preserve Manuka’s signature rich, creamy mouthfeel. It melts like butter in your mouth and is delightfully spreadable. There is some texture variation from hive to hive—that’s normal, natural, and expected.
3. Minimal (or no) processing guarantees pure, contaminant-free Manuka honey.
Our traditional methods ensure that our honey is free from antibiotics, GMOs, and harmful chemicals, like glyphosate. At Manukora, transparency equals trust. Our customers are assured of the quality and purity of each jar of Manuka honey through our QR code traceability. This information reveals all of our third-party tested lab results specific to each batch.
The Benefits of Choosing Raw Manuka Honey
Raw Manuka honey is different from regular honey. Its extensive and rare nutrient profile is an ally in wellness support. Let’s take a closer look.
Unprocessed Manuka honey is a natural source of energy and contains powerful and unique antioxidants, leptosperin and methyl syringate. In the body, antioxidants help to protect and preserve cellular health from damage caused by stress. You can think of it as wellness support from the inside out.
Manuka honey also contains nutrients—like MGO—that support a healthy immune response. MGO has proven antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties, and it is abundant in raw Manuka honey.
Oligosaccharides are complex sugar molecules found in Manuka honey. They function as prebiotics, which support a healthy microbiome, overall digestive health, and help promote a healthy inflammation response.
Remember, raw, unprocessed Manuka honey retains more of these beneficial elements than processed alternatives. If you’re looking for wellness support, raw Manuka honey is the superior choice!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What makes raw honey better than processed honey?
Raw honey retains natural compounds, antioxidants, and prebiotics that can be lost through heating and over-filtration.
Is Manukora honey raw and unheated?
Yes, Manukora follows traditional, unheated beekeeping practices to keep its honey 100% raw.
Can I use raw honey in tea or coffee?
Yes—just let hot drinks come off boiling before adding honey to preserve its beneficial nutrients.
Is raw honey safe to eat?
Absolutely. Raw honey from trusted sources, like Manukora, is safe for most people and packed with natural goodness.
Raw Manuka Honey: A Wellness Ally
Raw and processed honey differ significantly. Raw Manuka honey is naturally creamy, with a complex, caramel-like flavor and texture. It boasts a varied and beneficial nutrient profile—one that supports wellness in many ways. In contrast, processed honey is runny, has a dulled flavor profile, and lacks many of its original nutrients due to intensive filtration and heat processing.
As you reflect on the natural purity of raw Manuka honey, you’ll agree that it aligns with a more conscious lifestyle—it’s authentic, natural, and full of goodness.
The simplest—and sweetest—way to experience the difference is to try some yourself. At Manukora, we offer raw, traceable Manuka honey of various certified MGO concentrations. Our MGO 600+, 850+, and 1000+ Starter Kits are easy to use—and the perfect addition to any health-conscious lifestyle.
Sources:
Effect of thermal treatment on the biochemical composition of tropical honey samples
Antibacterial activity of Manuka honey and its components: An overview - PMC
