Honey vs Date Syrup: Taste, Nutrition, Cooking and Which to Choose

How each is made

Honey begins as flower nectar. Bees add enzymes and evaporate the water inside the hive until it thickens into honey. Raw honey is then simply extracted and strained. See how is honey made.

Date syrup is a kitchen product. Dates are soaked or simmered in water, mashed, strained, and the liquid is cooked down into a thick, dark syrup. Some brands are just dates; others add water or other sugars, so check the label.

Taste and texture

Date syrup tastes like caramel, toffee and raisins, with a deep brown color, a little like molasses but rounder and less bitter. Honey ranges from pale and floral to dark and malty depending on the flower. Date syrup is usually a bit thinner than raw honey and never crystallizes the way honey does.

Nutrition: calories and sugar

By the tablespoon, honey has about 64 calories and 17 grams of sugar, according to USDA data. Date syrup lands in a similar range, though it varies by brand and how far it was cooked down, so check the label. Both count as added sugars on a nutrition label. Date syrup carries a little potassium from the fruit, and dark honeys carry small amounts of minerals, but neither is a meaningful source of nutrients in normal amounts.

Cooking with each

Swap them one to one in most recipes. Date syrup is excellent in brownies, gingerbread, oatmeal, tahini dressings and drizzled over yogurt. It browns quickly, like honey. Honey wins where you want floral aroma or the specific character of a variety: tea, lemonade, cheese boards and recipes like baklava or honey cake.

A classic Middle Eastern pairing combines them. Tahini mixed with date syrup is a breakfast staple in Iraq, and many families also serve dates and honey together during Ramadan.

Which should you choose?

Choose date syrup if you are vegan or want a caramel flavor in baking. Choose honey if you want floral variety and a sweetener that pairs with tea, cheese and fruit. Many kitchens keep both. For more swaps, see substitute for honey.

History: two of the world's oldest sweeteners

People have gathered wild honey for at least 8,000 years, as rock paintings in Spain show, and cultivated date palms in Mesopotamia and the Gulf for thousands of years. In much of the ancient Middle East, date syrup was the everyday sweetener and honey the prized one. That history still shows up in recipes today, from Iraqi dibis with tahini to Jewish Rosh Hashanah tables where both silan and honey appear.

Because the Hebrew word devash can mean both, scholars still debate whether the land of milk and honey refers to bee honey, date honey or both. Read more in land of milk and honey.

Storing honey and date syrup

Raw honey keeps for years at room temperature in a sealed jar and will crystallize over time, which is harmless. Date syrup has more water, so most brands recommend refrigerating after opening; check the label. Neither should be stored near the stove.