BHADERWAH WHITE FOREST HONEY – AN INTRODUCTION

Yes, you read that right and no it is not a clickbait. True to its name, Bhaderwah white honey is actually white and creamy. This rich concoction unravels its distinctive flavours with every slurp you make. The delicacy is not a blessing to just your taste buds but also stores in a lot of health benefits.

Let us take you to the town of Bhaderwah situated in the valley of Jammu and Kashmir which is one of the very few places where Salaie flowers (Plectranthus) known exclusively for giving honey its characteristic white hue are found.

To start the process, our collectors fashion log hives from the barks of dried up trees by drilling small holes. They are then put in forests for the wild honeybees to nest. Unlike artificial containments, log hives ensure a natural habitat for bees to dwell and thrive. In the month of May-August, Salaie flowers bloom and bees start depositing the nectar in their hives.

Autumn marks the process of honey making by bees. By the end of October- December, our collectors hike through the snow covered mounts of Gundoh to begin with the task. Log hives are thus opened and raw,natural and monofloral honey is collected. We make sure to leave ample amount of honey for bees so they get the required nutrients which corn syrup feeders fail to provide. It is pertinent to note that corn syrup is used by the majority of collectors leaving the bees malnourished and prone to diseases and is one of the major causes of colony collapse disorder.

Once the local collectors are done with the work, Aswah takes the baton further to craft raw natural white honey in its purest form for your use. Yes just like that, no ultra- filtration no added flavours.

So, all in all, it takes the labour of 50 collectors, 2000 honeybees and 4 million spurflowers to make 1kg of creamy white honey. Moreover, we are proud to say that Aswah is the first brand from Jammu and Kashmir that sells white honey in both domestic and international markets.