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Honey as an ingredient
Most honey is eaten as it is, but a good deal goes into other products. Here is what honey is used for as a raw material, and what the sources say about each use.
Sources last checked 1 November 2026
Food and drink
Most honey is eaten straight: an estimated 90% of world consumption is table honey. The rest goes into other foods, where it is used as a sweetener.
Bread and cakes
In baking, honey helps hold moisture, extends storage life and gives a richer flavour.
Bread with honey powder
Research has tested 5–10% honey powder in bread.
Sweets and candies
Gummy candies, hard candies, toffees and honey candy are all made with honey.
Spreads
Examples include a guava and honey spread and an olive oil and honey spread.
Yoghurt
Researchers have made maize yoghurt with 0–10% honey.
Drinks
Honey is used in beverages such as an apple and passion fruit blend.
Honey flakes
A dried product that can stand in for liquid honey.
Sources: KALRO hive products manual; Babbar et al. 2022
Fermented drinks
Mead is an alcoholic drink made by fermenting honey diluted in water, with added nutrients for the yeast.
Mead
Sometimes called honey wine. Modern production adds nutrients, pasteurises, adds yeast, ferments and clarifies.
Sources: Mead production review (2014); KALRO hive products manual
Medicines
Honey is used as an ingredient and as a pleasant-tasting sweetener in pharmaceutical products.
Cough syrups
Honey is a component of many commercially made cough syrups.
Honey candy for cough
Researchers have developed a honey candy with plant materials aimed at cough and asthma.
Wound dressings
Clinical trials have tested honey dressings. See the health guide for what they found.
Sources: KALRO hive products manual; Babbar et al. 2022; Cochrane review (wounds)
Cosmetics and personal care
Honey is valued in cosmetics for its moisturising effect on the skin.
Soaps and creams
Honey is built into many cosmetic products.
Shampoos and conditioners
Also used in hair-care formulas.
Source: KALRO hive products manual
Traditional uses
Older practices that are still remembered, though not all are tested.
Preserving meat
Honey’s high sugar content combined with its antibacterial nature has been used to preserve meat.
Home remedies
A remedy for stomach aches, dehydration, allergies and skin and hair problems, according to a review chapter.
Sources: KALRO hive products manual; Babbar et al. 2022
Honey in processed food is a free sugar, as the health guide explains. And a hive makes more than honey: the shop shows the hive products that are coming.