RECIPE #1
Bee Candy
5 lb. white
sugar
1 1/3 cup water
1 tsp. cream of
tartar – prevents mold
1 pint WHITE
corn syrup
Need:
Large / deep stock pot (heavy bottom works
best)
Candy thermometer
Cake pan lined w/wax or prepared candy board
Paint stirrer with strong drill to beat
candy
'Tunnel’ spacer for candy board
This candy can
be put in a candy board and placed on the hives when they are wrapped or can be
made in a cake pan for emergency feeding in the spring.
The candy board
is an ‘inner cover’ with deeper sides so that it can hold the candy. Pound a number
of large head nails on the ‘inside’ of the candy board to help hold the candy
to the board when it is turned upside down on the hive in place of the inner
cover.
Set candy board
with nails up (center hole down) on a counter. Place the ‘tunnel’ from the
center to the exit notch on the short side of the frame.
Put all
ingredients in a large deep kettle. Stir to mix everything so that the sugar is
not on the bottom and burns when you heat the kettle.
Bring to a boil,
stir for a while, and keep boiling until it reaches a temperature of 240
degrees (soft ball). Keep thermometer off bottom of kettle. The mixture will be
clear and very hot.
Once it reaches 240 degrees, set the kettle in a deep sink
in ice water to help cool.
To cool further and speed the ‘set up’ time, beat
mixture with a paint mixer using a strong drill. As the candy cools, it will
get very thick and eventually turn cloudy. Once it starts to get cloudy, it
will ‘set up’ in about two minutes. The beating time is at least 10 minutes. Be
patient, it will get cloudy.
Once cloudy and
very thick, quickly turn into a cake pan lined with wax paper or onto a
prepared candy board.
If you are
using a candy board, make sure the tunnel stays in place. It will be removed
once the candy starts to set up.

If you use a
cake pan and want to have small blocks to feed, score with a knife. Once it has
cooled further, it will break on the scored lines – make the scores deep – all
the way through. If you want to feed all at once, leave in the cake pan until
totally cooled.
Candy can be
frozen to use later. If the candy does not set up, it will be sticky and the
bees will get stuck to it when they try to eat it. Not good.
DO NOT MAKE A
DOUBLE BATCH. Even in a deep kettle,
mixing with the paint mixer causes the candy to splash up the sides of the
kettle. A double batch will cause candy to splash out all over your work
surface and on you – very hot!
RECIPE #2
Bee Candy
board
This recipe is
the easiest, yet there is some waste of sugar as the bees eat their way through
since the candy as it is not ‘hard’ candy like the two above.
Need:
4 to 8 pounds of sugar (or more depending on
depth of candy board)
Mister to spray water
Water – very small amount –¼ cup or a little
more for small board
Candy board frame
HALF INCH mesh wire stapled to board
Tissue paper
‘tunnel’ made from wood or cardboard
Carrying board a little bigger than candy
board
Construct a
candy board using a frame of 1 to 2 inches high to match the 8 or 10 frame box. Cut an ‘exit’ in one of the short edges for
bees to use as an upper entrance (like on an inner cover). Cut wire mesh so
that the edges can be folded inside the frame and stapled to hold in place. Cut
the corners to help fold the wire mesh. OR
Cut the mesh to fit the edge of the
frame. Tape ends so you don’t scratch yourself. Now you have a wire mesh ‘box’
to hold the sugar.
Construct a
‘tunnel’ using a piece of wood or other items to make a tunnel from the center
of the candy board to the upper exit on the frame. This ‘tunnel’ can be used by
the bees once they have reached the candy board.