What Types of Sugars are in Honey?

Honey is a natural product that is subject to strict legal requirements. According to the Honey Ordinance, honey essentially consists of different types of sugar, in particular fructose and glucose and other components.

In detail, this means that honey consists of about 40 percent of the simple sugars glucose (dextrose) and about 40 percent fructose (fruit sugar). Other components are water (approx. 20 percent) and small amounts of sucrose (colloquially “household sugar”), minerals, pollen, enzymes, organic acids, vitamins and solid particles that were ingested by the bees when collecting nectar.

Depending on the honey, the ratio of fructose and glucose can vary. Rapeseed honey contains about 39.2 percent fructose and 41.6 percent glucose. Rapeseed honey therefore contains a little more glucose than fructose.

The heather honey, which is special in Lower Saxony, on the other hand, contains 39.3 percent fructose and only 30.9 percent glucose. In this honey, the fructose content clearly outweighs the glucose content.