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Is Honey Sweeter Than Sugar?

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Alicja Zelazko
Alicja Zelazko is Associate Editor, Arts and Humanities, covering topics in the visual arts, architecture, music, and performance. Before joining Encyclopædia Britannica in 2017, she worked at the Art...
Alicja Zelazko
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Honey dripping from honey dipper in wooden bowl
© Subbotina Anna/stock.adobe.com

For the most part, yes, honey tastes sweeter than table sugar. Both honey and sugar are made up of fructose and glucose, but fructose and glucose are bound together in sugar, a combination called sucrose. The fructose and glucose in honey, on the other hand, are largely independent. Fructose is sweeter than glucose (and sucrose), and because honey tends to have more fructose, it tastes sweeter than sugar.