Honey
A sweet product made by bees from nectar, composed mainly of fructose and glucose, with properties slightly better than sugar but not enough to make it a health food.
Honey is about 80% sugars (mostly fructose and glucose) and 17% water. The remainder, under 3%, brings together enzymes, organic acids, minerals, vitamins and phenolic compounds: this fraction is what makes it distinctive.
Compared with white sugar, its advantages are real but modest. Its slightly higher sweetening power means you can use a little less, its glycaemic index is on average a little lower, and it supplies antioxidants, more so the darker the honey. None of this changes its nature: it is a sweet product and should be counted as one.
It does not keep like other sugary foods, and it does not go off. Its very low water content, its acidity and the hydrogen peroxide produced by one of its enzymes make it hostile to micro-organisms. This is why it carries a best before date rather than a use-by date: the crystallisation that happens over time is a natural phenomenon, not spoilage.
Two points of caution. Honey is strictly not recommended before the age of one: it may contain spores of Clostridium botulinum, harmless to adults but responsible for infant botulism. And heating it strongly degrades its enzymes and aromatic compounds: to keep its benefits, it is better to add it off the heat.