# Why no artificial honey? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 18, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581 "2010-10-18T18:50:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/1 "2010-10-18T18:50:32Z")
As far as I know, all honey is made by bees. Why has no one figured out how to make artificial honey? Is there something bees know that we don’t? ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/2 "2010-10-18T19:03:47Z")
Artificial honey is called syrup. Sort of. We could make all kinds of things that have the sugar content of honey but it would be hard to make such a syrup with the flavors and smells of millions of flowers, which is what the bees do for us. On the other hand, it’s easy to get bees to make “honey” out of sugar syrup and that has little or no flavor. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/3 "2010-10-18T19:06:01Z")
[Invert sugar syrup](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_sugar_syrup) ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/4 "2010-10-18T19:06:40Z")
I have a jar of sugar-free honey at home (got it at Wal-Mart.) I never checked, but assume it’s artificial. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/5 "2010-10-18T19:15:53Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > [Invert sugar syrup](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_sugar_syrup) Golden syrup, which is mostly invert sugar, has properties similar to honey except in flavor. When a recipe calls for honey but I don’t want a strong honey flavor, I sometimes use golden syrup or a mixture. Golden syrup is more common in Britain than in the U.S., but you can find it here if you know where to look. ---
**Author:** ![AutumnLeaves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@AutumnLeaves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AutumnLeaves)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/6 "2010-10-18T19:22:16Z")
I don’t think we really need to. If you needed a sub for cooking - say, honey-baked ham - you could sub a homemade light syrup or, preferably for flavor purpose, agave syrup . For any baking purpose, you could sub agave syrup or invert sugar or just powder sugar if you futz around with the recipe. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/7 "2010-10-18T19:24:21Z")
> [@Palo\_Verde](#): > > Is there something bees know that we don’t? [What the queers are doing to our soil.](http://www.lyricstime.com/dead-milkmen-stuart-lyrics.html) ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/8 "2010-10-18T19:30:43Z")
Even though KFC’s “honey sauce” has a smidgen of actual honey in it, the bulk of it is HFCS. Probably why they are not allowed to call it honey. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/9 "2010-10-18T20:10:23Z")
> [@](#): > > Golden syrup, which is mostly invert sugar, has properties similar to honey except in flavor. When a recipe calls for honey but I don’t want a strong honey flavor, I sometimes use golden syrup or a mixture. Golden syrup is more common in Britain than in the U.S., but you can find it here if you know where to look. “Where to look” is in the ingredients of almost anything you buy from the grocery store. It’s not commonly sold by itself, but it’s the same stuff as HFCS. I always find it amusing when the folks who rant loudest against the evils of HFCS, when you ask them what a good sweetener is, they’ll almost invariably point to honey. Really, honey would be bad for you, too, if you ate that much of it. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/10 "2010-10-18T20:11:52Z")
> [@Palo\_Verde](#): > > As far as I know, all honey is made by bees. Why has no one figured out how to make artificial honey? Is there something bees know that we don’t? Yes. How to make all the enzymes that convert nectar into honey. It’s a little like asking, “Why haven’t humans figured out how to synthesize their own vitamin C internally instead of having to ingest it?” ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/11 "2010-10-18T22:31:28Z")
[Here](http://www.honeytreehoney.com/specialty-sugarfree.html) is what I have. It’s actually darn good. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/12 "2010-10-18T22:36:37Z")
Of course you can make [artificial honey.](http://www.chemie.uni-regensburg.de/Organische_Chemie/Didaktik/Keusch/D-art_honey-e.htm) Of course, the basic syrup doesn’t taste exactly like honey, but you could add artificial honey flavor, which is commercially available. And artificial honey is commercially available. [Distinguishing real from artificial honey.](http://www.ehow.com/how_5906638_distinguish-natural-honey-artificial-honey.html) ---
**Author:** ![notsoheavyd3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/85e7bf/32.png) [@notsoheavyd3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notsoheavyd3)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/13 "2010-10-19T00:22:00Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I always find it amusing when the folks who rant loudest against the evils of HFCS, when you ask them what a good sweetener is, they’ll almost invariably point to honey. Really, honey would be bad for you, too, if you ate that much of it. I found it amusing that they’d often talk about the horrors of HFCS vs sucrose in soda given the fact that most sodas are quite acidic and the acid breaks down the sucrose. (Into glucose/fructose which is what HFCS is made of.) ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/14 "2010-10-19T02:53:03Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Yes. How to make all the enzymes that convert nectar into honey. It’s a little like asking, “Why haven’t humans figured out how to synthesize their own vitamin C internally instead of having to ingest it?” Or even more closely: It’s like asking “Why haven’t humans figured out how to make artificial milk? Why do we stll need cows?” It’s one thing to synthesize one chemical; it’s quite another to make a very complicated natural mixture. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/15 "2010-10-19T07:38:32Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > [Distinguishing real from artificial honey.](http://www.ehow.com/how_5906638_distinguish-natural-honey-artificial-honey.html) I looked at this page and found quite a bit of nonsense. For example, it claims that real honey contains no water at all. According to some beekeeping sites I just looked at, the water content of honey is usually around 17% to 18%, and can range from 13% to 25%. [Cite 1](http://basicbeekeeping.blogspot.com/2007/10/lesson-twelve-moisture-level-of-honey.html), [Cite 2](http://townbees.blogspot.com/2008/08/moisture-in-honey-refractometer.html) The page says that natural honey is not sticky. Either this is false, or I’ve never seen natural honey. It says pure honey will crystallize over time. Some types of honey (notably tupelo honey) are not prone to crystallization due to their high fructose content. It says that ants will not disturb honey. I have seens ants get into spilled honey. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/16 "2010-10-19T12:06:39Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > Or even more closely: It’s like asking “Why haven’t humans figured out how to make artificial milk? Why do we stll need cows?” Huh, I thought that humans did make milk; and its not [artificial](http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/8985/2every2hrsau4.jpg). :dubious: Cows are over rated, who needs cows!🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/17 "2010-10-19T16:12:37Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > I looked at this page and found quite a bit of nonsense. Maybe so. My main point in linking to it was that artificial honey was available (and there are commercial sites for it too.) ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/18 "2010-10-19T16:37:13Z")
High-fructose corn syrup and honey have very similar chemical profiles. Good enough for me. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/19 "2010-10-19T19:16:11Z")
My artificial honey got me through many lonely nights. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/20 "2010-10-19T19:34:58Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > My artificial honey got me through many lonely nights. Was she sticky? :dubious: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581.md?page=2)