Also known as fruit sugar or levulose
Fructose is a monosaccharide (simple carbohydrate) that is found in most fruits. It is a component of sucrose, and is found in honey.
Fructose has a clean sweet taste. It is about 30% sweeter than sucrose, on a weight basis.
Fructose is the most soluble of the sugars. 4 grams of fructose can dissolve in 1 gram of water. It is far less likely to crystallize than sucrose. It is very hygroscopic (absorbs moisture from the air). It also binds water well in food products, keeping them from drying out too rapidly.
Fructose is ubiquitous in the diet. It usually makes up about 50% of the sugars in honey, and is present in most fruits. It has been used by diabetics because it does not cause a spike in blood glucose levels; the body can convert it to glucose, but it does so fairly slowly.