Doha: Amidst a handful of varieties of honey at the ‘Souq Waqif Exhibition for Honey and Dates festival, one distinctive type that is quite new in the country is Malaysia’s “Stingless Bee Honey” from Bayu Kelulut.
Unlike the usual honey, the taste is tangy, sweet, and sour, and is packed with therapeutic benefits in terms of antioxidant, antimicrobial, and even moisturising properties.
“The stingless bee is the smallest species of bee, the bee doesn’t sting, and the taste is quite different – it’s tangy, sweet, and sour, and also because of the bee size, they go deep inside the flower and get the nutrients and healing properties of it,” explained Bayu Kelulut Sales Director Central Zone, Badrul Hisham Bin Mohamed Ramly who is exhibiting for the first time at the festival.
He emphasised that stingless bees can only generate two kilos of honey per year and that, in contrast to the typical beehive, where most of the honey is produced, stingless bee honey is produced in pots. “It is very rare that’s why it is so difficult to harvest.”
The stingless bees keep their honey in storage pots made of cerumen, which is made of wax secreted from glands on the abdomen of worker bees, combined with propolis [a mixture of pollen and beeswax] which is derived from resins collected from plants. Ramly emphasised that the stingless bee honey stored in the pot is imbued with the therapeutic properties of propolis, compared to honey in hexagon combs formed of wax alone and unaffected by propolis during storage.
Moreover, he said that it has four to ten times more antioxidants compared to other kinds of honey, a claim supported by a local university study in Malaysia. “It has high antioxidant qualities which is a proven fact, and is very good for diabetic people because it doesn’t cause the blood sugar to spike.”
He also explained that the stingless bee honey comes from Borneo and is 100 percent pure laboratory tested. The honey has also made it to the Malaysia Book of Records as the “First ‘Made Kelulut’ to withstand sub-zero temperatures of Mount Everest. A stingless bee is commonly known as ‘Kelulut’ in Malaysia.
Currently, Bayu Kelulut is selling stingless bee honey for 100g and 700g, starting from QR70. They are also in talks with Qatari companies to market their products in the country but for the time being, interested people can purchase them at ‘Souq Waqif Exhibition for Honey and Dates which is open through March 11 at Al Ahmad Square, from 3:30pm to 9:30pm.
