Mānuka Honey 700+ MGO: How to Store and Enjoy It

A jar of MGO 700+ costs considerably more than the honey next to it on the shelf, and most of the questions we get are practical ones: how long does it keep, why has it gone hard, does it need to go in the fridge, how much should I use. Here are straight answers.

Where to keep it

A cool, dry cupboard with the lid closed. That is the whole answer.

Do not refrigerate it. Cold accelerates crystallisation, and there is nothing to preserve — honey’s naturally low moisture content and acidity mean it does not spoil the way perishable foods do. Properly sealed and out of direct sunlight, honey keeps for years. Ours carries a best-before five years from packing.

Use a dry spoon

The one habit that genuinely matters. Water is the only thing that meaningfully shortens honey’s life — introduce enough moisture and you create conditions for fermentation. A wet teaspoon, or one that has been in a cup of tea, brings water back into the jar. Dry spoon, every time.

Why it goes grainy

Crystallisation is normal, expected and not a fault. Raw honey contains natural sugars that gradually form crystals, and cooler storage speeds it up. It is a sign the honey has not been heavily processed.

To soften it: stand the jar in a bowl of warm water for ten to fifteen minutes and stir. Do not use the microwave — it heats unevenly, cooks the honey at the edges and drives off the aroma you paid for. Do not put it on the stove.

Warm, never boiling

If you are stirring Mānuka into a drink, let it cool for a minute or two off the boil first. Somewhere around 40–60°C keeps the texture and the aroma intact. At full boiling temperature the flavour thins out noticeably. The simplest test: if the cup is too hot to sip, it is too hot for the honey.

The same applies to cooking. Add it near the end of roasting rather than the start, or it will caramelise and then burn.

How much, and how

A teaspoon is a sensible serving. At that rate a 250g jar lasts most people six to eight weeks.

Straight off the spoon is the purest way to taste it — MGO 700+ is thicker and more resinous than a supermarket honey, with a slight bitterness underneath. Beyond that: stirred through warm water with lemon, over porridge once it is off the heat, on sourdough with good butter, through thick yoghurt, or whisked into a dressing with olive oil and vinegar.

One thing to avoid

Honey of any kind should not be given to infants under twelve months old. That is standard food safety guidance for all honey, not specific to Mānuka.

Checking what you have

Every jar carries a batch code and a trace URL. Enter it and you will see that batch’s harvest window, origin region, packing date and laboratory result. Ours is labelled MGO 700+ — the tier the batch clears, not its peak figure.