NourmioWhy honey and maple syrup labels show added sugars
Read Total Sugars and the Added Sugars percent Daily Value on a US honey or maple syrup label, then calculate the sugar in the amount you used.
A jar of pure honey or maple syrup can have one ingredient and still show a percent Daily Value for Added Sugars. US labels for these single-ingredient products can omit the usual grams line, but the percentage still tells you what one serving contributes. Use the Total Sugars grams to log the portion.
Find the number that belongs to your jar
Start with the ingredient list. On a US package of pure honey or maple syrup, look for the serving weight and the Total Sugars row. The Added Sugars percent Daily Value can appear without the usual “Includes” line that gives grams. If a dagger (†) follows the percentage, look for a note with the amount contributed by one serving.
A product with more ingredients can have a different panel. A honey-sweetened yogurt, for instance, shows the sugar contributed by sweetening in the context of the whole yogurt. If you are comparing two labels, check how total and added sugars relate before adding any numbers.
Read one tablespoon of honey
The US online panel for Kirkland Signature Wild Flower Honey lists honey as its only ingredient. It gives the following figures for one tablespoon.
| Label detail | For one tablespoon |
|---|---|
| Serving weight | 21 g |
| Energy | 60 kcal |
| Total Sugars | 17 g |
| Added Sugars Daily Value | 34% |
The 34% describes the contribution of those sugars to the label’s daily reference. The jar still has 17 g of total sugars per tablespoon. The website’s panel and note give those figures. The placement of the note on a particular jar can vary.
Log what went into the cup or recipe
If you weigh out 7 g from the same jar, you used a third of the label serving. Divide the printed values by three. That gives 20 kcal and about 5.7 g total sugars. The figures are estimates based on the rounded label.
For a different brand or a jar of maple syrup, repeat the calculation using its serving weight and Total Sugars row. If you log the honey in coffee, enter the amount you poured and check the totals against that label.