# 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:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/21 "2010-10-19T22:22:05Z")
> [@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 think the bigger issue people have is how much HFCS is put into things, how it’s put into things that don’t really need it (why on Earth would fruit juice need added sweetener?), and how more of it is needed to create a sweetness that overwhelms its uninteresting taste where a small amount of honey or cane sugar would suffice. Generally when you see HFCS in a product, it’s a good signifier that not much thought was put into the quality of the product in general. Sort of like when rock stars put strange demands on their list so they know that the important demands were also met. > [@Colibri](#): > > And artificial honey is commercially available. [Distinguishing real from artificial honey.](http://www.ehow.com/how_5906638_distinguish-natural-honey-artificial-honey.html) Cool! I’ve never seen it in my region (other than agave which I don’t really count), and I’ve always wondered why too. After all, there’s no lacking in artificial maple syrup concoctions. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/22 "2010-10-19T22:36:40Z")
> [@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 prefer things like real honey, real maple syrup, and real unrefined cane sugar to HFCS as a matter of _flavor_. It’s all sugar, of course. I eat less sugar overall to the extent that I’m a snob about only eating the best sugars. ---
**Author:** ![notsoheavyd3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/85e7bf/32.png) [@notsoheavyd3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notsoheavyd3)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/23 "2010-10-20T03:35:18Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > It says that ants will not disturb honey. I have seens ants get into spilled honey. That one sounded like utter nonsense to me too. I mean if ants got into a bee-hive the ants eating some honey would be the least of the bees worries. (Which would most likely be the ants eating all the young and any bee stupid enough to try and protect the young.) ---
**Author:** ![Khaki\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Khaki\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khaki_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/24 "2010-10-20T06:02:21Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > I have a jar of sugar-free honey at home Sugar-free honey ? Sounds like dry water. ---
**Author:** ![Teacake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Teacake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teacake)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/25 "2010-10-20T17:28:43Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > “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. What? HFCS is corn syrup, yes? Golden syrup is made from pure cane sugar. ---
**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 20, 2010, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/26 "2010-10-20T19:45:48Z")
> [@](#): > > I think the bigger issue people have is how much HFCS is put into things,… Yes, I meant the people who rant the loudest. There are some folks who insist that HFCS is significantly worse than other sources of an equivalent amount of sugar, often on grounds that it’s “unnatural”, or not “organic”, or the like. Like I said, any sugar would be bad if you ate that much of it. ---
**Author:** ![Norse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9adbd/32.png) [@Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Norse)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/27 "2010-10-20T20:01:18Z")
> [@Teacake](#): > > Golden syrup is made from pure cane sugar. Or, rather, golden syrup is made _before_ pure cane sugar. Golden syrup is sort of an intermediate on the path from cane juice via concentrated cane juice (really, really close to golden syrup) via unrefined cane sugar to “pure”, white, refined cane sugar. And after crystallizing out some of the sugar from the concentrated juice, you get dark syrup, and in the next stage, molasses. There’s also a distinct flavor difference between unrefined cane sugar (demerara sugar) and the “fake” dark brown sugar which is just refined sugar with some added molasses for taste and color. ---
**Author:** ![Teacake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Teacake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teacake)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/28 "2010-10-20T21:02:33Z")
Much more accurate, thank you. Still not made of corn, though! ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/29 "2010-10-21T15:19:25Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > I think the bigger issue people have is how much HFCS is put into things, how it’s put into things that don’t really need it (why on Earth would fruit juice need added sweetener?), and how more of it is needed to create a sweetness that overwhelms its uninteresting taste where a small amount of honey or cane sugar would suffice. Generally when you see HFCS in a product, it’s a good signifier that not much thought was put into the quality of the product in general. Sort of like when rock stars put strange demands on their list so they know that the important demands were also met. IME most people who have a bone to pick with HFCS really do seem to think that HFCS is an ‘industrial chemical’ and uniquely bad for the body because it’s not ‘natural’. They have no issues with eating excessive amounts of honey, cane sugar, maple syrup, seek out many products that contain large amounts of sugar, and tend to get somewhat offended if you tell them that of all sweeteners honey is the most similar to HFCS. Eating 150g of carbohydrate per day from sweeteners is terrible for your whole body. Whether they come from cane sugar or HFCS matters hardly at all. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/30 "2010-10-21T15:25:41Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > I have a jar of sugar-free honey at home (got it at Wal-Mart.) I never checked, but assume it’s artificial. It’s from Nutrasweet bees. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/31 "2010-10-24T07:03:18Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > It’s from Nutrasweet bees. AWESOME idea! So we genetically modify flowering plants to emit nutrasweet honeysuckle (or stevia or whatever), so that the resultant honey is calorie free! ---
**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 24, 2010, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/32 "2010-10-24T07:20:59Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > AWESOME idea! So we genetically modify flowering plants to emit nutrasweet honeysuckle (or stevia or whatever), so that the resultant honey is calorie free! Except for the fact that the bees would starve to death. ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/33 "2010-10-25T00:18:44Z")
Colibri, hon, yer just the bee’s knees !😛 ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/34 "2010-10-25T01:02:41Z")
> [@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?” Well, we’re [one broken gene away.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L-gulonolactone_oxidase#Gulonolactone_oxidase_deficiency) ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/35 "2010-10-25T01:30:53Z")
> [@Khaki\_Campbell](#): > > Sugar-free honey ? Sounds like dry water. Instant water. Just add water. ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581/36 "2010-10-25T01:48:51Z")
It’s been determined here that there is an artificial honey, at least in sweetness and in viscosity, in cooking substitution. But, on a finer level, it seems impossible to synthesize what the busy bee gals do in gathering from fields of flowers. There are honey varietals, just like wine or coffee varietals, that result from the collection from different flowers; [here’s](http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/honey/types4.asp#varietals) a good rundown, along with lots of other honey info on that site. You really can taste the difference in different flower sources. As a horticulturist, that delights me as a nice statement in the diversity of plant chemistry, down to nectar source. And, those bees do a world of service in pollinating so many agricultural crops we love as fruits, nuts, and ornamentals. Fake honey might be cheaper and as sweet, but it doesn’t support as complex an ecological/agricultural web as the bees do, so, it’s worth it to support beekeepers and real honey. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-artificial-honey/557581.md?page=1)