I was reading an article recently, where beekeepers have combined with a local hotel to put honey on the menu in a taster night with a difference.
Spinach pasta with goat cheese and Tawari or manuka honey will be the starter followed by a main of pork fillet with pumpkin and honey.
A dessert of caramelised apricot with Tawari honeycomb rounds off the three-course dinner.
www.gisborneherald.co.nz
Salient point made at the end of the article too
“We're purists, and a bit fanatical.”
Eclipsed by interest in manuka honey, other varieties attract low prices — if producers of non-manuka and multi-floral honeys are even able to find a buyer.
“It's our opinion, which most beekeepers share, that the marketing of New Zealand varietal honeys has been poor,” says Mr Gibson. “There are exceptions, such as manuka honey, but most honey in this country is marketed as a cheap commodity and often as a blend.
“For various complicated reasons, the price of non-manuka honey has crashed.
It's generally accepted that around $6 a kilogram is the break-even point for beekeepers. My last offer for my tawari honey last year was $4. So, although Tawari honey is held in high esteem by those who get to taste it, unless the beekeeper sells directly, it's not worth producing.
“Barry and I are trying to change this.”
Spinach pasta with goat cheese and Tawari or manuka honey will be the starter followed by a main of pork fillet with pumpkin and honey.
A dessert of caramelised apricot with Tawari honeycomb rounds off the three-course dinner.
Honey night chance to enjoy unique flavour of tawari
From a remote location north of Gisborne, at an altitude of about 2000 feet, beekeepers Brian Gibson and Barry Foster collect the golden elixir known as tawari honey. Like other uniquely-flavoured va...
www.gisborneherald.co.nz
Salient point made at the end of the article too
“We're purists, and a bit fanatical.”
Eclipsed by interest in manuka honey, other varieties attract low prices — if producers of non-manuka and multi-floral honeys are even able to find a buyer.
“It's our opinion, which most beekeepers share, that the marketing of New Zealand varietal honeys has been poor,” says Mr Gibson. “There are exceptions, such as manuka honey, but most honey in this country is marketed as a cheap commodity and often as a blend.
“For various complicated reasons, the price of non-manuka honey has crashed.
It's generally accepted that around $6 a kilogram is the break-even point for beekeepers. My last offer for my tawari honey last year was $4. So, although Tawari honey is held in high esteem by those who get to taste it, unless the beekeeper sells directly, it's not worth producing.
“Barry and I are trying to change this.”