Uralla beekeepers Geoff and Jody McNally know they produce a top-notch honey - and now have a major accolade to prove it.
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The McNally's Melibee Pure Honey won first place and champion creamed honey with a plain creamed honey exhibit at the 2024 Sydney Royal National Honey Competition.
The honey exhibits were judged prior to the show opening on Friday, March 22, and the McNally's were advised of their win on March 18.
The couple have been keeping bees since 2015, starting out as a backyard hobby. In the past year, however, they have up-scaled the venture and established Melibee Pure Honey as they look for new and interesting ways of value-adding their honey.
Mr McNally predominantly looks after the bees, moving them across New England farms to feed on flowering plants.
This "delicious, nutrient dense raw honey" is then meticulously transformed by Mrs McNally into a silky smooth, melt-in-your-mouth creamed honey.
With a background in science and research, Mrs McNally, who has worked at CSIRO Armidale for many years, used her skills to create the perfect creamed honey.
"I wanted to do something that was different, to set us apart from other honey producers in the region," she said.
"It was a challenge to get a smooth consistency and to get the set right.
"There is an art to creating the perfect creamed honey - and it took quite a few months and trial runs to get the consistency right.
"That consistency is going to be influenced by a number of factors, including temperature, moisture and the type of honey you start with."
The couple's daughter, Jannala, who is a designer, creates the unique branding and marketing for Melibee, which styles itself as a boutique honey producer.
Aside from plain creamed honey, the Melibee team has also created a line of flavour-infused creamed and raw honeys.
"I love experimenting with different spices, making flavours to tantalise the taste buds," Mrs McNally said.
"We've created infusions such as Ginger Kick, Chai Spice, Cinnamon Twist, Lemon Myrtle, and there is even one for the chocolate lover, Chocolate Cream.
"There are no extra additives - just pure raw honey and organic spices."
The Melibee Pure Honey range can be found at local markets and stockists in Uralla and Armidale.
Visit www.melibee.com.au for more details.
