un-handy candy

[markrogers]

as a new bee i decided to make some candy to block in my about to be delivered mated queen (to replace drone layer).

having read, enjoyed and followed clive de bruyn's book i followed his recipe. which was boil water add sugar until you reach 5:1 then boil for 3 mins
@ 107 deg C. (can't remember exact temp). anyhow i ended up with a product that looked suspiciously like fox's galcier mint. undeterred i poured it into the entrance of my queen introducer cage. i also aded a bit of the candy that came with the queen which worryingly didn't look at all like mine but resembled fudge.

after 9 days i opened up the hive for a snoop and found that the poor queen was still entrapped. the 'fudge' was gone and a small amount of my glacier. i decided to poke a hole through it and try not to spear her. tomorrow i will see if she is still around and laying.

i have obviously made a mistake somewhere. any pointers would be appreciated.

mark

 

[mexbigshow]

i think i have heard that you need to add liquid glucose to stop it from setting too hard, i am still quite new at this so i'm sure someone else will have more info on the subject

 

[oliver90owner]

Candy (or fondant) has the same sort of 'softness' as fudge. Rock hard is not candy in these circumstances.

RAB

 

[Luminos]

The recipe I have seen uses Cream of Tartar, I think this keeps it from going rock hard?

 

[Ruary]

The recipe I have seen uses Cream of Tartar, I think this keeps it from going rock hard?

Cream of Tartar is not to be recommended see Honey Bee Pathology by Bailey and Ball for more on that.
The secret of making soft candy is in the beating as the syrup cools down. The cooling needs to be rapid to prevent the syrup from continuing to cook after removal from heat.
Do not boil the water until all the syrup is dissolved.
5 parts sugar to one part water heat water but do not boil until all the sugar is dissolved.
Continue to heat stirring until 234 degrees fahrenheit is reached.
Remove from heat and place sucepan in sink of cold water.
Stir until it starts granulating
Decant into containers.
There is no need for glucose.
Ruary

 

[oliver90owner]

tomorrow i will see if she is still around and laying.

I doubt she will be laying for a couple days or more. The workers will need to feed her up a bit before she starts laying again. Check to see she is released and leave them alone for a few days, is my advice.

 

[drstitson]

for the tiny amount needed for a single queen cage just mix a spoon or two of icing sugar with a dribble of water until at right consistency.

(or pare the chocolate off of a fry's chocolate cream and use the filling.)

 

[susbees]

Or mix icing sugar to a thick paste with your own honey.

 

[Arfermo]

Cream of Tartar is not to be recommended see Honey Bee Pathology by Bailey and Ball for more on that.
The secret of making soft candy is in the beating as the syrup cools down. The cooling needs to be rapid to prevent the syrup from continuing to cook after removal from heat.
Do not boil the water until all the syrup is dissolved.
5 parts sugar to one part water heat water but do not boil until all the sugar is dissolved.
Continue to heat stirring until 234 degrees fahrenheit is reached.
Remove from heat and place sucepan in sink of cold water.
Stir until it starts granulating
Decant into containers.
There is no need for glucose.
Ruary

Adding honey to create soft candy to put in the queen cage is by far the best. It gets the bees working to release the queen much more effectively than anything else at all. Take the word of a man who has been involved with bees for 75 - yes 75 - years.

 

[markrogers]

candy probs

thank you all for your comments i will try all of them to see which one suits me best.

the good news is that she is out and still alive. no eggs yet as far as i could see. you were right there, oliver. i did think that her abdomen looked larger so hopefully she will lay very soon.

this hive, though low on numbers due to the DL Q, has alot of stores. virtually a super full plus some in the brood.

my question is would it stimulate laying if i put some syrup on? i am getting nervous that they are running out of time.

unfortunately i have only a nuke and a swarm as my other hives. i have already robbed 2 frames of brood from the swarm but don't want to take more. the nuke looks fine but although there are 5 frames of brood i don't want to weaken them.

what are the views of more experienced beeks? (that means just about everybody compared to me!).

thanks

mark

 

[huntsman666]

No need for any of that. They'll slowly break through a flat piece of paper or two held in place by elastic bands to let her out.

 

[BKF Admin]

A couple of threads regards making fondant:

Bee Fondant

Bee Fondant

And a sticky post here with recipe: Bee Fondant Recipe

 

[Bee-Key-Pur]

Don't forget this one....

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/video.php?do=viewdetails&videoid=96