Replacing honey in a recipe can be tricky. You can’t just leave it out because the dish will taste different and have a different texture. Great, so much for your idea of veganising a recipe. Wait a minute, there are tasty alternatives to replace honey! These 7 vegans are the solution.
1. Old school kitchen syrup
Your grandmother or mother probably had/has it in the kitchen cupboard: cooking syrup from De Zeeuwse Boerin. It is even said to be the most famous kitchen syrup in Zeeland. They should be proud of that, because it is a good substitute for honey. Spread it on your pancakes, for example. Or just use it in a recipe.
Least healthy
Kitchen syrup is the least ‘healthy’ of these vegan honey substitutes. So use it in moderation. But that is actually true for this whole list.
2. Agave syrup
You can also replace honey with agave syrup. This is extracted from the agave plant, a tropical plant which resembles aloe vera, only bigger. Agave syrup contains a small amount of vitamin C and B6.
1.5 times sweeter than sugar
Agave syrup is approximately 1.5 times sweeter than ordinary sugar, so you need less of it. In addition, the syrup consists mainly of fructose. This makes your blood sugar levels rise less quickly. I have never tasted agave syrup myself, so unfortunately I cannot tell you what it tastes like. Can you? Let me know what you think in the comments!
3. Date Syrup
Date syrup is one of my favourite vegan alternatives to replace honey. The great thing is that you can easily make it yourself. You mix some dates with water and thicken it in a pan. Of course, you also have the option of getting a jar from the shop. 😉
The benefits of date syrup
Date syrup has its advantages. Because date syrup is very sweet, you need to use less in a recipe. Read: Sugar reduction! It is also less thick than honey, which makes it easier to mix with other ingredients. And on top of that, date syrup contains some fibre and potassium.
4. Banana
Do you want to replace honey by banana? Then this is the best choice! This fruit contains vitamin C, magnesium, fibre and potassium. I love to use bananas for baking. I do not really have a sweet tooth.
Good substitute, but it does make your baking more compact
Side note: It is not always the case that baking becomes more compact when using banana instead of honey. This healthy vegan cake that I made has almost the same structure as the ‘real thing’.
5. Quick juice
Is it not the sweet drink that children are always given? It sure is! But thick juice is also very suitable as a vegan honey substitute.
Concentrated fruit
Diksap is nothing more than concentrated fruit. By boiling the fruit, the water evaporates and a thick, sweet substance is created. Because of this, thick juice only contains natural sugars from fruit.
Quick juice is suitable as a lemonade, but you can also use it to garnish pancakes. Or you can use it in a recipe. For instance in this delicious oosa cake.
6. Maple syrup
Replacing honey with maple syrup is definitely a good idea. Why? Because you are really missing out if you have not tried it before! Maple syrup is the sweetest sweetener on this list (I think). It also contains a fair amount of calcium and potassium. I say a win-win situation.
Liquid sugar from a tree
It’s hard to believe, but maple syrup comes from a tree. That is to say, it comes from a maple tree. In the winter, this tree stores sugar in its roots. Then, in the spring, the sap rises to the surface. When you thicken this sap, you get the delicious caramel-like flavour of maple syrup.
A and C grade
The caramelised flavour depends on the season. C grade maple syrup tastes much stronger than A grade syrup. You can also see the difference in the colour. A is light and C is dark.
7. No bee honey
Replace it with honey? How so? Well thanks to BioToday a vegan honey has come on the market. According to BioToday, this ‘No bee honey’ has the same taste, structure and smell as real honey. Sounds promising, doesn’t it?
Cassava syrup
Now you’re probably wondering what this vegan honey is made of. The ingredients are tapioca syrup, apple juice concentrate and lemon juice. Simply put, No bee honey is made mostly from cassava. Yes, the same root that is used to make cassava crackers.