5 delicious honey alternatives

Honey is probably the most popular sweetener next to refined sugar. Those who follow a vegan diet usually avoid honey and use alternatives. But it's also worth trying the various honey alternatives for non-vegans. These are in no way inferior to honey and are just as delicious!

Why do some people choose to avoid honey?

The short version: Honey is made from flower nectar, which is absorbed by the bees and then enriched and further processed in the hive. Honey serves as the bees' main source of food and is essential for overwintering the colony during the cold winter months. When humans interfere with this natural process, the bees are not only disturbed but also “deprived” of their product. It is not uncommon for them to be harmed. I will go into all of the points just mentioned in more detail in this blog post .

Photo by Kat Smith

We use honey to sweeten food, drinks and baked goods. Because ultimately, honey is one thing above all for humans: sugar - sugar that tastes pretty good and can have very different nuances. The good thing, however, is that sugar comes in a wide variety of forms and we therefore do not have to rely on eating honey in any way. Finally, we can replace the sweetener with another one quite easily. The alternatives are also very tasty and don't all taste the same. Today I’m introducing you to the 5 best honey alternatives. :)

5 delicious honey alternatives

1. Agave syrup

Let's start with what is probably the best-known honey alternative among vegans.

Agaves are plants that thrive in dry and hot climates. For this reason, the plant is cultivated primarily in South America. When making agave syrup, the sap of the plant is processed into syrup.

Agave syrup has hardly any taste of its own, which is why it is very versatile. Especially when baking, agave syrup is often used as an alternative to honey because the two hardly differ in consistency and sweetness.

Because agave syrup contains a lot of fructose, it is unfortunately less suitable for allergy sufferers.

Agave syrup is now available in almost every supermarket, discount store and of course in health food stores. The health food store also has an agave cream that works well as a spread and is very similar to the dull, opaque honey.

2. Maple syrup

Who doesn't know it - pancakes with maple syrup for Sunday breakfast. Yummy! Similar to agave syrup, maple syrup can be used in a variety of ways and is a great alternative to honey. However, you have to be aware of the rather strong taste of maple syrup. Of course, it always depends on the type of use and how strongly you taste the flavor in the end. You definitely have to try maple syrup!

Maple syrup comes from Canada and the vast majority of production still takes place there. Similar to agave syrup, this means that long transport routes have to be covered so that the product can be available in our supermarket. You should keep that in mind.

The syrup is obtained from the trunks of the sugar maple and then heating the sap. It also has a high fructose content - attention to all allergy sufferers.

Compared to honey, maple syrup has more nutrients and fewer calories. It can be found in supermarkets, discount stores and health food stores.

3. Date syrup

Now let's come to a little insider tip: date syrup, which is not yet very common in this country.

Dates are very healthy because they have an antioxidant, digestive effect and stimulate energy metabolism. Date syrup also has all of these advantages – if it is made naturally. So pay attention to this when purchasing.

Date syrup contains far fewer calories than regular cane sugar. Unfortunately, people with fructose intolerance have to be careful here too (there's a suitable honey alternative coming soon for you too, so stay tuned! 😉).

Date syrup is one of my favorite honey substitutes and is great in tea, pastries, bread and muesli, among other things.

A little tip: Date syrup is pretty easy to make at home! The result is more like a kind of mousse than syrup, but that doesn't detract from it.

All you need is 150 g of dates (unsweetened, dried and pitted) and 250 ml of still water (tap water). Boil the water and then put it in a heatproof bowl along with the dates. Soak the dates in the water for an hour and then place the mixture in a blender. Puree everything until you get a smooth mixture. Your date “syrup” will keep in the fridge for a week.

If you don't want to make date syrup yourself, you can get it in health food stores and health food stores.

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

4. Sugar beet syrup

Sugar beet syrup is a great alternative to honey because it is regionally available. It is obtained by thickening the juice of sugar beets and requires no additives. Cultivation usually takes place in Germany or other Central European countries.

Because “normal” sugar is also made from sugar beets, it also has similar nutritional values ​​to conventional sugar. In contrast to table sugar, it contains valuable minerals, for example. Sugar beet syrup also scores points with its taste.

Sugar beet syrup, also known as beetroot, is particularly suitable as a spread. But it can also be used in baking and cooking (I just say “vegan gravy”...!).

Sugar beet syrup is available in supermarkets, discount stores and health food stores.

5. Rice syrup

Here it comes, the tip for all allergy sufferers: rice syrup! Because it only consists of rice and water and is therefore fructose and gluten free.

Rice syrup has a fairly mild taste and is less sweet than honey or conventional sugar. If you want to replace sugar or honey with rice syrup in recipes, you should increase the specified amount by 10%.

It won't surprise you at this point that rice syrup is suitable for sweetening pancakes, cereal, coffee and baking. After all, this is still a honey alternative. :-)

Rice syrup is not yet as common as the other honey alternatives and is therefore mainly available in health food stores and health food stores.

The products mentioned are by no means the only honey alternatives. Honey can also easily be replaced with stevia, dandelion syrup, apple sweetener or dried fruits. The latter three products can be easily made at home; similar to the date syrup.
There are definitely other honey alternatives that I don't know yet. It's definitely worth browsing the supermarket shelves and trying out different honey alternatives. I'm sure there's something for everyone! With that in mind: Have fun sweetening with plant-based sweeteners ☺️💛.

If you would like to find out more about healthy eating, mindfulness, sustainability or family and pregnancy, check out more exciting blog articles on these topics here .

Photo from Pixabay