honey

Also known as Mel

Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primarily floral nectar) or the secretions of other insects, like the honeydew of aphids. This refinement takes place both within individual bees, through regurgitation and enzymatic activity, and during storage in the hive, through water evaporation that concentrates the honey's sugars until it is thick and viscous.

OverviewAI-generated

Honey is a natural product of the taxa Apis mellifera and Apis. It is produced through beekeeping and gathering, using nectar and water as materials. The substance is classified as a confection, syrup, and fodder, and serves as a food ingredient and organic matter. It possesses the characteristics of hygroscopy and viscosity.

Nutritionally, honey contains 378 kcal of energy per serving, with 78.4 grams of carbohydrates and 71.1 grams of sugars. It includes 0.1 grams of fiber, 0.2 grams of proteins, and 0.02 grams of salt, while containing no fat or saturated fat. It is categorized as honeys in Openfoodfacts and holds a Nova classification of 2. Uses for honey include being a spread, an ingredient, and medicine. The Unicode character 🍯 represents the subject.

Synthesized by Vinony from 29 facts across 4 sources: Wikidata, PubMed, Openfoodfacts, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Nutrition · Open Food Facts

Typical values per 100 g · averaged across 59 products

eNutri-Score

2NOVA · Processed culinary ingredient

Energy: 378 kcal
Fat: 0 g
— of which saturates: 0 g
Carbohydrates: 78.4 g
— of which sugars: 71.1 g
Fibre: 0.1 g
Protein: 0.2 g
Salt: 0.02 g

Browse on Open Food Facts →

via Open Food Facts · ODbL

Research

21,020 papers

Honey: its medicinal property and antibacterial activity.ReviewAsian Pacific journal of tropical biomedicine · 2011Mandal MD, Mandal SDOI: 10.1016/S2221-1691(11)60016-6
Honey for wound healing, ulcers, and burns; data supporting its use in clinical practice.ReviewTheScientificWorldJournal · 2011Al-Waili N, Salom K, Al-Ghamdi AADOI: 10.1100/tsw.2011.78
Honey therapies for dermatological disorders: more than just a sweet elixir.ReviewInternational journal of dermatology · 2024Jodidio M, Schwartz RADOI: 10.1111/ijd.16925
Honey as a Treatment in Otorhinolaryngology: A Review by Subspecialty.ReviewThe Annals of otology, rhinology, and laryngology · 2019Tharakan T, Bent J, Tavaluc RDOI: 10.1177/0003489418815188
Honey and children: only a grandma's panacea or a real useful tool?ReviewInternational journal of food sciences and nutrition · 2021Pecoraro L, Flore AI, Dalle Carbonare L et al.DOI: 10.1080/09637486.2020.1811958
Exploring honey's potential as a functional food for natural sleep aid.ReviewFood & function · 2024Zulkifli MF, Masimen MAA, Ridzuan PM et al.DOI: 10.1039/d4fo02013h
Selected honey as a multifaceted antimicrobial agent: review of compounds, mechanisms, and research challenges.ReviewFuture microbiology · 2025Machado A, Toubarro D, Baptista J et al.DOI: 10.1080/17460913.2025.2498233
Honey for managing oral mucositis induced by cancer therapies: An overview of systematic reviews.ReviewComplementary therapies in medicine · 2025Anshasi H, Abufarsakh B, Alkhawaldeh JM et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.ctim.2025.103197

via PubMed

~54 min read

Encyclopedic overview

46 sections

Contents

Formation
By honey bees
By other insects
Human intervention
Production
Collection
Preservation
Adulteration
Production
Modern uses
Food
Fermentation
Physical and chemical properties
Phase transitions
Rheology
Electrical and optical properties
Hygroscopy and fermentation
Thermal characteristics
Acid content and flavor effects
Volatile organic compounds
Classification
Plant source
Monofloral
Polyfloral
Honeydew honey
Classification by packaging and processing
Grading
Indicators of quality
Nutrition
Sugar profile
Medical use and research
Wounds and burns
Antibiotic
Cough
Other
Health hazards
Botulism
Toxic honey
Folk medicine
History
Religious significance
Popular culture
See also
References
Bibliography
External links

Honey bees stockpile honey in the hive. Within the hive is a structure made from wax called honeycomb. The honeycomb is made up of hundreds or thousands of hexagonal cells, into which the bees regurgitate honey for storage. Other honey-producing species of bee store the substance in different structures, such as the pots made of wax and resin used by the stingless bee.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “honey” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.