how to make fondant for bees

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Fondant for bees is a little different than the fondant that y'all find at the bakery. The baker fondant can accept loftier fructose corn syrup, cornstarch, coloring, and flavorings added to it. Making fondant for bees is a lot like making candy.

When starting a honey bee farming project, even a modest one, information technology'south super important to consider the availability of nutrient for the bees. Now, bees are great at finding food just it'due south still wise to intentionally grow plants that attract bees to ensure that they have plenty to eat.

However, even with the best planning and intention, in that location are times that bees might demand food from the beekeeper. If yous manage your hives well and are diligent to get out enough honey for the bees to make it through the wintertime or ameliorate even so, wait until spring to harvest any honey, you shouldn't accept to feed your bees very often.

When practise Bees Need to be Fed?

There are several reasons why bees might need to be fed instead of relying solely on what they stored or on foraging.

ane. Winter lasts longer normal. No ane tin predict the future and know exactly how long winter will concluding or how much beloved the bees volition eat during the wintertime. This is the chief reason some beekeepers adopt a spring harvest instead of a fall harvest.

2. Winter is warmer than normal only there isn't nectar flow. During the winter bees cluster to stay warm. Since they aren't out flying around, they aren't using much energy and don't consume equally much stored honey. Yet, if the winter is warm the bees will naturally want to fly effectually and provender. The problem is that even in a warm winter there isn't much to forage. So, they come back to the hive and eat more stored honey than they would have it they had been amassed.

3. A new hive is existence established. Setting up house and cartoon out rummage takes a lot of energy. Providing extra food at the beginning tin can assistance the bees draw out the comb quicker. Feeding for the first few weeks of installing a new hive is a very mutual practice.

4. A hive is weak. Sometimes fifty-fifty subsequently a summer of foraging a weak hive won't have plenty honey stored for the winter. Some beekeepers will feed a weak hive to encourage them to store more honey and hopefully make it through the winter.

Why Fondant for Bees?

Fondant can be made ahead of time and stored in the freezer in gallon zilch lock bags. When you lot realize that a beehive needs to be fed, it's ready.

Fondant is dry. Dissimilar syrup, fondant is dry and then the bees can utilize information technology right away. As well, feeding bees syrup can increment the humidity in the hive and if a freeze comes, the hive can freeze considering of the humidity. Fondant doesn't increase humidity in the hive.

How to Brand Fondant for Bees?

Fondant is just sugar, h2o and a small amount of vinegar. The best carbohydrate is to use is just patently white cane saccharide. At this time cane sugar is non-GMO but beet sugar is GMO. Besides, don't use powdered sugar since it often has anti-caking ingredients such as corn starch or tapioca in it. Likewise, don't utilize brown sugar which might be caramelized or take molasses in it, both of which are not practiced for bees.

You lot can use white vinegar or apple cider vinegar. Information technology'due south just a small amount and won't make the fondant gustatory modality like vinegar. The acid in the vinegar volition invert the sucrose into glucose and fructose, which is what the bees like. At that place is some disagreement amongst beekeepers every bit to whether this is necessary since bees do this almost immediately when they eat sucrose. And then if you lot decide to get out information technology out, that'southward fine.

Ingredients and Supplies

4 parts sugar (past weight)
1 part water (past weight)
¼ tsp vinegar for every pound of saccharide
Processed thermometer
Thick bottomed pot
Stove
Manus mixer, immersion blender, stand mixer, or whisk

And so, if yous have a iv-pound pocketbook of sugar, you will need i pint of water (16 oz. of water which weighs just a bit over a pound) and a teaspoon of vinegar.

Put all the ingredients in a pot on the stove and estrus over medium loftier heat until it reaches a 235°F which is the soft ball temperature for candy making. If you don't have a candy thermometer you lot tin can check the consistency by putting drops of the fondant into a cut with very common cold water. If information technology balls up into a soft brawl, y'all've reached the stage. If it merely kind of dissipates, you demand to let cook more than. If it turns into a hard ball, you've let it get too hot.

As the sugar starts to melt, the liquid volition become translucent.

Syrup foams quite a fleck when it boils so make sure yous use a large enough pot to contain it all. Also, keep an eye on it and turn down the heat if information technology starts to boil over.

After a while, the foaming will cease and the syrup will start to jell.

After it reaches the softball stage, remove the pot from the heat and let it cool until it reaches almost 190°F. If you don't have a thermometer let it absurd off enough that it begins to wait opaque instead of translucent.

Once it's cooled, mix it well to break upward the crystals. I prefer to use an immersion blender for this considering I don't like having to pour the mixture into my stand mixer when it's super hot. Shell until the bee fondant is white and smooth.

This is what it will look similar.

Pour into prepared pans. I like to utilise disposable pie pans that I accept saved from beingness thrown abroad, you could likewise use a plate lined with wax paper. I like this size because I tin put the whole thing in a gallon zip lock bag without cutting it or breaking it autonomously. Some people like to employ a cookie sheet (the kind with a lip) that is lined with wax paper. Whatever y'all accept and want to use is fine. Merely make sure it's ready to get when you're finished mixing. The libation the fondant gets, the harder it is to cascade.

One time information technology's completely cooled, put information technology in zip lock bags and store in the freezer. Don't forget to label them so anybody knows they're for the bees.

When it's time to use the fondant, simply put a disk in the topmost function of the hive. If the bees need it, they will consume information technology. If they don't need information technology, they won't take it. Merely exist sure to remove any leftover fondant when it is no longer needed.

What About Protein?

Similar people, bees cannot live on just carbohydrates, they also demand poly peptide. When bees fodder they get protein from the pollen they collect. When feeding bees fondant, y'all can also feed them pollen patties to help round out their nutrition.
Beekeeping is an fine art and a scientific discipline and quite oft there is no clear cut style to do things. Ane of the best things a outset beekeeper tin can exercise is discover a mentor. The mentor can be an individual or a local beekeeper's group. Non but can the mentor help you acquire how to outset a honey bee farm, he or she tin can also help you acquire how to maintain the beehives in your climate.

Take you ever made fondant for bees? How did they similar information technology?

Source: https://backyardbeekeeping.iamcountryside.com/health-pests/how-to-make-fondant-for-bees/

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