Composition of honey

Honey is a mixture of sugars and other compounds. With respect to carbohydrates, honey is mainly fructose (about 38.5 percent) and glucose (about 31.0 percent). The remaining carbohydrates include maltose, sucrose and other complex carbohydrates. In addition, honey contains a wide array of vitamins, such as vitamin B6 , thiamin, niacin, riboflavin and pantothenic acid. Essential minerals including calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and zinc as well as several different amino acids have been identified in honey. (Honey also contains several compounds which function as antioxidants. Known antioxidant compounds in honey are chrysin, pinobanksin, vitamin C, catalase and pinocembrin. Unlike most other sweeteners, honey contains small amounts of a wide array of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants.

The specific composition of any batch of honey will depend largely on the mix of flowers consumed by the bees that produced the honey. Honey has a density of about 1.5 kg/liter (50% denser than water) or 12.5 pounds per US gallon.

Typical honey analysis
Fructose: 38%
Glucose: 31%
Sucrose: 1%
Water: 17%
Other sugars: 9% (maltose, melezitose)
Ash: 0.17%
Source: Sugar Alliance
The analysis of the sugar content of honey is used for detecting adulteration.