Sidr honey, also known as Baghiyah honey is a mono-floral honey produced by bees extracting their nectars exclusively from flowers of Sidr trees (Ziziphus spina-christi), also known as Lote tree, Christ’s Thorn, Jujube or Nabkh tree. These trees can be found across the Middle East and grow extensively in Yemen especially in the South.
Sidr trees are also mentioned in the Quran, as one of the plants of Paradise. They have numerous benefits, where the entire parts of the tree from the roots, barks and leaves have been used by the Arabs for hundreds of years for health, beauty and skin care products. Their fruits too have high nutritional values.
In Yemen, especially the Hadhramout region, these trees grow extensively, uncultivated in the wild without any use of fertilizers, chemicals or pesticides within the mountainous valleys. This ensure enough supply of nectars from Sidr trees for the bees and makes the honey produced within the region to be very potent.
Yemeni Sidr honey is harvested mainly from Hadhramout, the Southern regions of Yemen, the most famous of them all being Wadi Do’an or the Valley of Do’an. There is even a song titled ‘Asl Do’an (Honey of Do’an) by the famous legendary Saudi singer Abu Bakar Bin Salem Balfagih who originated from Tarim, Hadhramout. There are also other valleys where Sidr honey is being harvested from, like Wadi ‘Amed, Wadi Zahab, Wadi Bin Ali and many other valleys within Hadhramout and other parts of Yemen, where populous Sidr trees can be found.
Sidr honey produced from Yemen have a unique, raw, thick, luscious taste and packed with nutrients thanks to the natural mountainous desert environment of the valleys where these Sidr trees grow.
Sidr honey is harvested only once a year, in the winter season, making the supply limited. They are harvested and extracted using simple tools and manual labor without the use of machines or chemicals. They are then poured into containers, raw, unheated and unprocessed, ready to be distributed, hence preserving its unique aroma, taste and nutritional benefits.
Yemeni Sidr Honey or sometimes referred to as ‘Liquid Gold’, is highly priced for its manual harvesting process and scarcity. It is arguably the best honey in the world due to its medicinal properties, unique taste and aroma. They are packed with antiseptic, antibacterial, and antibiotic properties. The only competitor on par with it is we would say high grade Manuka Honey which is also highly priced and packed with medicinal properties. However, comparing the aroma and taste of the two, we would personally stick to Yemeni Sidr Honey. Try it for yourself and you be the judge.
BENEFITS OF SIDR HONEY
• Promotes general health and vitality
• Aid liver problems
• Prevents heart disease
• Improves blood circulation, clears arteries and prevents blockages
• Prevents acid reflux (when taken before meals)
• Enhancing teeth growth for children
• Good for pregnant women over 4 months and nourishes the fetus
• Enhancing the delivery process
• Harmonizing the relationship between couples
• Treats insomnia (when mixed with milk)
• Accelerate the healing of burns by rubbing it on the wound
• Protects wounds
• Eliminates infections
• Accelerate healing on fractured bones
• Lowers cholesterol
• Targets microorganisms
• Treats chronic cystic acne (when a topical paste is created with ground cinnamon, applied to affected area and worn overnight)
• Cures chronic congestion, coughs and sinus pressure (when mixed with cinnamon and taken orally)
• Heals ulcers in the stomach, digestive problems, as well as Crohn’s disease and IBS
• No side effects
How to Consume
• A spoonful at night before bed or right after bed before consuming anything.
• Can also mix a spoonful of honey with water and let it stand overnight. Drink it the next morning right after bed before consuming any food.
