Encyclopedia · Honey
All about honey: from flower to jar
Honey is flower nectar that bees have concentrated, transformed with their own enzymes and sealed in wax. Here is what it is, the many kinds, what labels really mean, why it crystallizes, how to store it, and how to tell real honey from fake.
Updated 2026-11-10 · Fact-checked against the sources listed at the end.
How honey is made
Foragers collect nectar, which is mostly sugar and water, and carry it home in their honey stomach. House bees pass it between them, adding the enzyme invertase, which splits sucrose into the simpler sugars fructose and glucose. Bees spread the nectar thinly in the comb and fan it with their wings until most of the water evaporates, then seal each cell with a wax cap. U.S. bees visit about 2 million flowers to make a single pound. Inside the hive →
What's in honey
| Part | About how much | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fructose | ~38% | The main sugar; very sweet |
| Glucose | ~31% | The sugar that crystallizes |
| Water | ~17% | Low water is why honey resists spoilage |
| Other sugars | ~10% | Maltose, sucrose and others |
| Everything else | ~1–4% | Acids, minerals, enzymes, amino acids, pollen, plant compounds such as polyphenols |
Honey is acidic, with a pH typically around 3.5–4.5, and gives off tiny amounts of hydrogen peroxide when diluted. Together with low water content, that is why sealed honey keeps so well. One tablespoon (21 g) has about 64 calories and 17 grams of sugar, according to USDA nutrition data. It is still an added sugar, so health guidelines apply to it just like table sugar.
Raw, unfiltered, organic: what labels mean
| Term | What it usually means | Is it regulated? |
|---|---|---|
| Raw | Not heated much beyond hive temperature, and only strained, so it keeps more pollen, enzymes and aroma | No federal U.S. definition |
| Unfiltered / strained | Strained to remove wax and bee parts but not finely filtered, so pollen remains | Not formally defined |
| Pasteurized | Heated to slow crystallization and kill yeasts | Process term |
| Organic | Meets USDA organic rules, including forage conditions | Yes, under the USDA National Organic Program |
| Pure / 100% honey | Nothing added | FDA guidance says honey with added sweeteners must be labeled as a blend |
| Varietal (e.g., "orange blossom") | Mostly from one kind of flower | Some states have standards; methods vary |
Kinds of honey
The flowers bees visit set a honey's color, flavor and texture. Light honeys are usually milder; darker honeys are stronger and often higher in antioxidants. See honeys from around the world →
| Honey | Flavor & color | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Clover | Light, mild, floral | The classic American table honey |
| Orange blossom | Light, fresh, citrusy | A Florida, California and Texas specialty |
| Tupelo | Light amber, buttery, delicate | From Florida and Georgia river swamps; high in fructose, so it is very slow to crystallize |
| Saw palmetto | Amber, rich, slightly smoky | Florida |
| Mangrove | Amber, salty-sweet | Florida coasts |
| Sourwood | Light, caramel-anise | Appalachian mountains |
| Buckwheat | Very dark, molasses-like, malty | Among the highest in antioxidants |
| Acacia (black locust) | Very light, clean | Stays liquid for a long time |
| Wildflower | Varies | A blend of whatever is blooming |
| Manuka | Dark, earthy, thick | New Zealand and Australia; graded by MGO or UMF |
| Honeydew (forest) honey | Dark, mineral, less sweet | Made from sugary secretions of sap-sucking insects, not nectar |
Forms: liquid honey; comb honey still in the wax; chunk honey with a piece of comb in liquid honey; and creamed or whipped honey, which is crystallized in a controlled way so the crystals are tiny and smooth. The process was patented by Cornell's Elton Dyce in the 1930s.
Grades and colors: the USDA grades honey A, B, C or substandard, based on water content, flavor, clarity and defects. Color is measured on a scale from water white through extra light amber to dark amber.
Why honey crystallizes, and how to fix it
Crystallized honey is not spoiled. Honey holds more sugar than water can normally dissolve, so over time the glucose forms crystals. Honeys high in glucose, like clover and canola, crystallize fast; honeys high in fructose, like tupelo and acacia, stay liquid for a long time. Cool temperatures, around 50–60 °F (10–15 °C), speed it up.
To re-liquefy: set the jar in warm water, not boiling, and stir now and then until the crystals melt. Avoid the microwave and high heat, which can scorch honey and damage its flavor and enzymes.
Storage and shelf life
- Keep honey in a closed container at room temperature, away from sunlight. The fridge makes it crystallize faster.
- Honey absorbs moisture from the air. If its water content rises above about 18–19%, wild yeasts can make it ferment: it smells sour or beery and may foam. Fermented honey isn't harmful, but its quality is lost.
- Properly stored honey keeps for years. Its color darkens and its flavor slowly changes with time and warmth.
Fake and adulterated honey
Honey is one of the foods most often adulterated, usually by mixing in cheap syrups. Home tricks, like the "water test," "thumb test" or setting honey on fire, do not reliably detect it. Real detection takes lab methods such as carbon isotope analysis and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) profiling.
How to protect yourself: buy from local beekeepers you can talk to, look for the country of origin, be suspicious of prices far below the market, and choose brands that publish independent lab testing.
Honey safety
- "Mad honey", made from certain rhododendron nectar in parts of Turkey and Nepal, contains grayanotoxins and can cause dangerous drops in heart rate and blood pressure. Don't eat it.
- Coughs: research supports honey as a remedy for nighttime cough in children over 1, and it is part of some pediatric and WHO guidance. See a doctor for a cough that lasts or comes with a fever or trouble breathing.
- Wounds: sterilized, medical-grade honey is used in some wound dressings, but kitchen honey is not sterile and shouldn't go on open wounds.
- Blood sugar: honey raises blood sugar like other sugars. People with diabetes should count it as carbohydrate.
Honey by the numbers
U.S. honey production in 2025 was about 116 million pounds, down 14% from 2024 and the lowest on record, from about 2.41 million honey-producing colonies, according to USDA. The average price rose to about $3.05 per pound. Americans eat far more honey than the country produces, so most honey sold in the U.S. is imported.
Frequently asked questions
Does honey go bad?
Sealed, properly stored honey keeps for years because it is low in water and acidic. It can ferment if it absorbs moisture, and its color and flavor change slowly over time. Crystallized honey has not gone bad.
Is crystallized honey still good?
Yes. Crystallization is natural and does not mean the honey is spoiled. Warm the jar gently in warm water to make it liquid again.
What is the difference between raw honey and regular honey?
Raw honey is usually only strained, not heated, so it keeps more pollen and aroma and crystallizes sooner. Regular supermarket honey is often heated and finely filtered so it stays clear and liquid longer. The U.S. has no legal definition of raw.
Why can't babies have honey?
Honey can contain spores of the bacteria that cause botulism. A baby's gut is not mature enough to stop them from growing, so honey should never be given to infants under 12 months.
How can you tell if honey is real?
Home tests like the water or flame test are not reliable. The best protection is buying from beekeepers and brands you trust and that publish lab testing; real verification requires laboratory analysis.
Sources
- National Honey Board, honey composition, varietals and storage resources
- USDA FoodData Central, honey nutrition
- USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Standards for Grades of Extracted Honey
- U.S. FDA, Proper Labeling of Honey and Honey Products, guidance for industry (2018)
- CDC, botulism: infant botulism and honey
- USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Honey (March 2026)
- USGS, honey bees visit about 2 million flowers per pound of honey