Madu mendapatkan rasa manisnya dari [[monosakarida]] [[fruktosa]] dan glukosa, danserta memiliki rasa manis yang hampir sama dengan sukrosa (gula meja).<ref name="NHB carbs">National Honey Board. [http://www.honey.com/images/downloads/carb.pdf "Carbohydrates and the Sweetness of Honey"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110701123525/http://www.honey.com/images/downloads/carb.pdf |date=1 July 2011 }}. Last accessed 1 June 2012.</ref><ref name="Oregon State University">Oregon State University [https://web.archive.org/web/20121101092211/http://food.oregonstate.edu/learn/faq/faq_sugar53.html "What is the relative sweetness of different sugars and sugar substitutes?"]. Retrieved 1 June 2012.</ref> Lima belas mililiter (1 sendok makan Amerika) madu menyediakan sekitar 190 kilojoule (46 kilokalori) energi.<ref name="Nutrient Data">{{cite web|url=http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/6287?fg=&man=&lfacet=&count=&max=35&sort=&qlookup=honey&offset=&format=Full&new=&measureby=|title=Full Report (All Nutrients): 19296, Honey|publisher=USDA National Nutrient Database, Agricultural Research Service, Release 28|date=2015|access-date=30 October 2015}}</ref> Madu memiliki sifat kimia yang menarik untuk memanggang dan memiliki rasa yang khas bila digunakan sebagai pemanis.<ref name="NHB carbs" /> Kebanyakan mikroorganisme tidak tumbuh di dalam madu, jadi madu yang tersegel tidak akan rusak, bahkan setelah ribuan tahun.<ref name="Geiling">{{cite news|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-science-behind-honeys-eternal-shelf-life-1218690/?no-ist|title=The Science Behind Honey's Eternal Shelf Life|last=Geiling|first=Natasha|date=22 August 2013|newspaper=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]|access-date=9 September 2019}}</ref><ref name="Prescott 1999">{{cite book|author1=Prescott, Lansing |author2=Harley, John P. |author3=Klein, Donald A. |title=Microbiology|publisher=WCB/McGraw-Hill|url=https://archive.org/details/microbiology00pres |url-access=registration |location=Boston |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-697-35439-6}}</ref>
* {{cite book|author=Krell, R.|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations|title=Value-added products from beekeeping|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_BzzBBbnIJhIC|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_BzzBBbnIJhIC/page/n167 5]|year=1996|isbn=978-92-5-103819-2|ref=Krell|access-date=5 January 2016}}
* {{cite book|author1=Root, A. I. |author2=Root, E. R. |title=The ABC and Xyz of Bee Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i0PoSYNEsh0C&pg=PA355|year=2005|publisher=Kessinger Publishing|isbn=978-1-4179-2427-1|ref=Root|access-date=5 January 2016}}
* [http://www.fao.org/docrep/006/y5110e/y5110e00.htm Beekeeping and Sustainable Livelihoods (2004), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations]
