Spread on toast, drizzled over porridge, baked into sticky flapjacks... a jar of honey is an endlessly versatile storecupboard ingredient. We've taste-tested the best runny honey to find the ultimate jar, no matter how you like to enjoy it.

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Honey is a natural sweetener that is typically eaten at breakfast or in bakes, but it can also be added to marinades and paired with cheese. It has a variety of flavour profiles, depending on the flowers that honeybees have collect the nectar from. Our expert cookery team have chosen the best runny, clear honey based on strict criteria, to find the best jars on the market.

Discover the myriad ways you can use honey in our best ever honey recipe collection; we have used honey in baking recipes like our salted honey cheesecake, salted honey date cake, Russian honey cake and honey madeleines.

If you are looking to use honey in savoury recipes, find some inspiration with our honey-sriracha glazed meat balls, deep-fried goat's cheese with pink peppercorn honey or honey sesame chicken.

For more great storecupboard spreads, read our guides to the best marmalade, best lemon curd, best strawberry jam and best salted butter.

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Best honey at a glance

  • Best for toast: Black Bee Honey British Summer honey, £6.18
  • Best all-rounder: Daylesford London honey, £14.99
  • Best with creamy foods: Morrisons Spanish forest honey, £3.60
  • Best with savoury foods: Hilltop British Blossom honey, £6
  • Best for baking: Rowse Dark and Rich honey, £3
  • Best for baklava: The Groovy Food Company Organic Mexican Wildflower Honey, £3.48

The results of the best honey taste test 2022

Black Bee Honey British summer honey, £6.18

Score: 10/10

Best for toast

Made from British beehives, testers wondered if honey could get better than this. It smells like a summer meadow and has floral and fruity notes of violets and blackberries. They thought this honey would be good on toast to appreciate its premium taste. This particular honey would be a lovely gift, too. Black Bee Honey have a jar for every season.

Available from:
Amazon (£6.18)
Ocado (£6.50)

Daylesford London honey, £14.99

Score: 9/10

Best all-rounder

Spiralling around a spoon well, with a silky, thick texture, this honey has a sharp, citrus taste that is similar to marmalade. This honey feels special and there is a nuttiness that would go well with oats or seeds. It is an overall versatile honey because of its fruity and savoury notes.

Available from:

Daylesford (£14.99)

Morrisons Spanish forest honey, £3.60

Score: 9/10

Best with savoury foods

One of the darker jars of honey, it has a roasted, nutty flavour profile, almost as if it has been matured in an oak barrel. Testers thought this would be amazing baked with chorizo, added to Greek yogurt or paired with a nice cheese. Its particularly dark colour and luscious viscosity means it would be good for drizzling over finished dishes, too.

Available from:

Morrisons (£3.60)

Hilltop British Blossom honey, £6

Score: 8/10

Best in drinks

Despite its pale colour, this honey has a deep flavour. Testers thought it had an autumnal flavour profile that reminded them of a forest. It has an umami quality with a sweetness that lightens it up overall. This British blossom honey could work very well in sugared nuts or in a cocktail.

Available from:

Ocado (£6)
Amazon (£6)

Rowse Dark and Rich honey, £3

Score: 7/10

Best for baking

Giving a strong taste reminiscent of golden syrup and treacle, there are hardly any floral notes in this honey and a very slight bit of bitterness, from the background notes of aniseed. Tasters thought this flavour would hold well when baking and it would be a great alternative to sugar.

Available from:

Amazon (£2.50)
Ocado (£3)
Morrisons (£2.50)

The Groovy Food Company Organic Mexican Wildflower Honey, £3.48

Score: 6/10

Best for baklava

This Mexican wild honey is collected from the rainforests in the Yucatan peninsular. Due to its tropical origin, it has a distinct floral taste with a prominent flavour of rose that is perfume-like with a bitter after-note to cut through the sweetness. This could be a divisive honey, but our judges thought its flavour profile and amber colour would bring a sophisticated note to top a bake, like baklava, or to stir into lemon water in the morning.

Available from:

Amazon (£3.48)
Tesco (£3.50)


How we tasted

We chose jars and bottles of clear honey that contained only honey, rather than added sugar or preservatives, and did not have any added flavourings. Testers looked out for any particular notes from the honey, whether floral or bark, and the origin of the honey. They also looked at consistency, viscosity and colour to determine its strengths and best uses.

Read more expert taste tests:

Apple cider vinegar taste test
Ginger beer taste test
Chickpeas taste test
Cashew butter taste test
Cheddar taste test
Tinned tomatoes taste test

Marmalade taste test
Pesto taste test
White miso taste test
Salted butter taste test
Strawberry jam taste test
Hummus taste test
Dried spaghetti taste test
Oat milk taste test
Smoked salmon taste test

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If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability, please get in touch at oliveweb@immediate.co.uk.

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