The Nectar That Is Yemeni Honey

It was in an iftar, the Islam feast at sundown after a day’s fasting, during last year’s Ramadan that I first tasted the incomparable Yemeni honey.

It is the best honey in the world and has all the healing properties one can think of, our Emirati host had said.  Its kind comes only from Yemen, in an elevated area with unique plants not found anywhere else, and where it never rains.  He credited the honey for making possible the conception of his year-old toddler after years of marriage to his Filipino wife.

Our host held a bottle about the size of a regular drinking glass, half-full of clear, golden honey, and scooped out a teaspoon for each guest.  It was plain there would be no second helpings.  When the golden liquid touched my tongue, I thought I’ve come nearest to the nectar of the gods of Mt. Olympus.  Or maybe that was the nectar itself.

I’ve tasted honey from different places.  And there’s always honey as a substitute for sugar in my stack of cooking condiments.  Nothing comes close to the taste of Yemeni honey.  It tastes grand and smooth, and it’s all I could say because I know of no words that could approximate that ultimate experience of taste and aftertaste.

Honey is an ancient remedy for infections.  Ancient Egyptians were said to regard honey as a cure-all.  Yemeni folklore takes honey as a medicine for colds, kidney inflammation, heart muscles, cancer, jaundice and acne.  Singers use honey to soothe their vocal chords while dieters use it as sugar substitute because it makes them feel full longer and satisfies their desire for sweets.

Some studies claim that honey has anti-microbial properties, but further research is still needed for its use in clinical practice.  There are also claims that doctors in a hospital in England are doing clinical trials on patients using honey to reduce inflammation and bacterial infections that resist antibiotics.

I am reminded of something I heard back home but never gave much importance to- a local though not widespread practice of letting a newborn swallow a little honey.  It is supposed to thoroughly clean the baby’s insides.

Honey has also been used for cosmetics for centuries.  Its ability to seal in moisture in the skin while keeping it soft makes honey a base for skin moisturizing products.

Yemeni honey’s healing properties rest more on reputation and anecdotal evidence.  It is also said to help in the growth of healthy skin tissue, cure diarrhea, and heal wounds faster.  True or not, its taste is enough to make it a standout by itself, thus its popularity in the world, most especially in the Gulf region.

The husband then recalls the Pakistani diplomat with whom he was seated during the diplomatic corps’ iftar.  He only took cupfuls of tea with honey and told me to try the heavenly honey, he said.  It must have been Yemeni honey, considering that the host was the ruler himself.

Fortunately, Yemeni honey is available in stores.  Unfortunately, it costs a fortune.  Curious and wanting to catch that unique taste again, we decided on the lower-priced bottle, the kind that’s not the cheapest but just a rung higher from the bottom.  We picked out a small bottle of honey that costs 250 dirhams (around three thousand pesos at the current exchange rate) and held it like there’s no tomorrow.

I am not about to put honey on my face for cosmetic reasons; it’s food and has to be swallowed, come what may.  And I don’t mix it with anything else.  A teaspoonful in its purest form is the best way to savor its unique taste.

This goes without saying that buying an expensive kind of Yemeni honey is just an accident of curiosity on our part.  It may heal some ailments, though I still have to prove it myself.  At the moment, I can’t prove it because its price makes me feel sick inside.

It’s nice to realize though that it’s honey that led me to learn more about Yemen, whose capital is Sana’a.  The country has so much more than its excessive reputation in the US as a haven for extremists and the site of the USS Cole bombing in its port of Aden.

(28 Oct 2007)