Why Is Honey Kosher?

The following explanation of why honey is considered kosher is reproduced from an article written by Rabbi Moshe Gutnick, NSW Kashrut Authority, published in the Australian Jewish News September 2010.

One of the most popular customs surrounding the High Holy Days is the use of honey. However, there is a problem. We know that honey comes from bees, and bees are a non-kosher insect. There is a general rule that anything that comes from something non-kosher is non-kosher, so why is honey permitted?

The Talmud resolves the problem in two ways. The first describes the anatomy of the honey bee. Bees collect nectar from flowers that they process i the honey sac, a cavity in the body of the bee. The nectar, which is primarily sucrose, is converted via enzymatic excretions into glucose and fructose. The bee subsequently secretes this processed nectar - called honey. The Talmud posits, therefore, that honey is merely processed nectar and, as such, it is kosher.

A second opinion takes the view that honey is kosher by virtue of biblical decree specifically in relation to insects, which forbids the insects and not its excretions.

The practical difference between these opinions is seen in royal jelly, which is not simply processed nectar but actually a particular glandular extrusion. If we agree that there is a biblical decree covering all excretions, royal jelly would be permitted. However, if the reason that honey is permitted is because it is simply processed nectar, that is certainly not the case with royal jelly and it should be forbidden. Its status remains questionable, though many authorities permit its use, especially when mixed, with other ingredients and certainly for medicinal purposes.

But don't get confused. The Talmud earlier in the tractate uses a different verse to prove why milk is kosher. The land of Israel is praised as being a land flowing with "milk and honey" and if milk was not kosher, it would not be used to praise the Holy Land. Why didn't the Talmud use the same argument to prove that honey was kosher? Here comes the surprise:
many understand the verse to be referring not to bee honey at all, but to date honey.

At any rate, all agree that honey is sweet and kosher.