Fructose, also found in honey, does not raise blood sugar levels in the way that other carbs do. As such you don't get such an insulin spike, which is good in one sense but the only reason we avoid insulin spikes is because it leads to fat storage. However fructose goes straight to the liver and if that's full straight into fat storage anyway, so the lack of insulin is irrelevant.
Insulin is actually a good thing shortly after working out, as it drives the nutrients into your muscles, both feeding them for recovery and helping them grow. So really it's about the timing of insulin - most of the time you wan't it low and steady, hence slow-burning carbs. After a workout you want it high, hence hi-carb post-workout shakes etc.
Fructose does nothing for this cycling of insulin, beyond the fact that having a full liver is helpful.
In essence the only thing you really need that you can get from fructose is a full liver - that's it, any more and it's just fat storage. As such fruit is handy to top up the liver and reduce hunger pangs if you're cutting on low calories or very low carbs but it does jack shit for blood-sugar related energy levels, it does jack shit for improving workouts, it does jack shit for boosting insulin post-workout, it does jack shit for improving pumps, it basically does jack shit once you have a full liver.
FRUIT on the other hand has many goodies, nutrients such as vitamins and fiber, so real fruit is not too bad. You just don't need much at all and should avoid eating it when you're already stuffed. Vegetables are generally the better choice, as long as you have a reasonable variety of them.
The best time for fruit is early morning, as your liver is likely to be low, after that it's not so good. Some mass-gain poweders have some fructose to shut the liver up so that insulin is boosted to the max, but as such powders usually have more than enough carbs anyway it's a waste of space and more fattening than helpful.
The biggest problem with fructose and why peeps like me rail against it comes down to government subsidies. To protect north American corn growers real sugar, from sugar cane, is highly taxed as an import, while fructose corn syrup is subsidized with tax money and cheap as chips. As such virtually all processed foods are very high in fructose, WAY more than you'll ever need and a major reason people get so damn fat on processed food.
If you're eating clean, ie not eating processed crap, then some fruit in the morning, or any time you wish to take the edge of hunger pangs, is helpful.
For the average sized guy one large fruit such as an orange or pear is all you need. If you're 300lbs eat two. That's presuming you're eating some other carbs, you certainly shouldn't rely on fruit as your main carb source.
Never underestimate the need for fiber though, if you're on a calorie-restricted diet you'll find your weight stays the same and your belly bulges, as what little you eat can get stuck! So plenty of fiber and water - and fruit can help with that.
One fruit I like is papaya, I can starve myself silly for 2 days and a slice of papaya will still give me the shits, which may be more info than you wanted?
B.