Nectar commonly contains about 20 to 40 percent sugar. The bees in the hive concentrate the honey in the honeycomb to about 83% solids. Bees add the enzyme invertase to convert sucrose to the simple sugars glucose and fructose. After collection, most honey is heat treated to prevent unwanted fermentation by osmophilic yeasts and to delay crystallization. Honey is also filtered to remove air bubbles, solids and pollen grains.

       The 3 major components of honey are fructose (38%), glucose (31%) and water (17%). The remaining 14% consists of disaccharides, trisaccharides, oligosaccharides, enzymes, and small amounts of minerals (such as selenium, magnesium, chromium, and potassium). The level of minerals in honey, however, does not compare with the level found in molasses.