Honey is a naturally available sweet, gluey food substance produced by honey bees and some related insects. These insects make honey from the sugary secretions of plants (floral nectar) or from secretions of other insects (such as honeydew), by discharging, enzymatic functioning, and water evaporation. Bees preserve honey in wax structures called honeycombs. The variety of honey produced by honey bees (the genus Apis) are that the best-known, for its worldwide commercial production and human consumption. Honey is gathered from wild bee colonies, or from hives of domestically tamed bees, also known as beekeeping or apiculture.

Honey gets its sweetness from the Monosaccharides fructose and glucose, and has about the same relative sweetness as sucrose (table sugar). It has interesting chemical properties for baking and a unique flavor while used as a sweetener. Most microorganisms don’t grow in honey, so sealed honey never decays, even after thousands of years.