Honey thieves have recently targeted a Whole Foods in La Jolla, CA. They are specifically going after the Manuka honey, which the store sells for around US$60 per small jar, and which is now kept safely concealed at the store checkouts — you have to ask specifically for it if you want to buy it.
Over the last few years, Manuka honey has become a darling of the natural foods world, bolstered by celebrities such as Dr. Oz and Gwyneth Paltrow, who have evangelized about the honey's supposed healing powers. The honey can be wildly expensive — I recently spotted an 8.8 oz jar at Costco for US$350.
What's more troubling, especially if you're spending significant amounts of money on it, is that recent research commissioned by the Sunday Times of London revealed that most of the honey sold worldwide as Manuka is probably not even the real deal. I have no idea if the honey "works" (from what I've read, there have been promising studies focused on its antimicrobial effects), or even, I guess, if the small jar I bought at Fry's for 20 bucks is "real" Manuka, but it's super delicious in tea or even straight out of the jar.
It has a creamy, thick, almost whipped texture. Yum. If you want to learn more about Manuka honey, here's a really interesting short mini-doc.
