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Fondant making day..

2K views 15 replies 3 participants last post by  Gypsi 
#1 ·
I made a batch of bee fondant using the recipe Gypsi posted..it was simple and worked great..here are some pictures,the ingredients, the paper plates I used plastic wrap, I want to see if I can peel the plastic off when they harden up,the pot of water, the pot with sugar then letting it cool to add the bee pollen sub., then the plates filled with the fondant..untill it boiled it was milk colored and once boiled it turned almost clear till the pollen sub was added...next set of pics on next post
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#3 ·
if they harden into a softish fondant and peel off the plastic , I will fold them in half then vaccum pack and freeze for storage till I need them..more pics of that to follow after they cool down..total time less than an hour start to finish pour into the plates..and now just waiting for them to cool...
 
#6 ·
since our weather has stayed warm and the bees very active with limited forage for them, I started feeding the fondant to the bees, boy they are hungry little buggers and went through 3 pounds in short time, I didnt keep track of the days the first time, but I am now and will see how many days it lasts..I think later today I will make batch 2 and will try to heat the sugar solution the the higher temp and see if it hardens to a harder patty, as the first ones are just a bit sticky for my easy handling liking...
 
#7 ·
I am new to this, so this may be wrong, but some of the articles I have read claim that one advantage to fondant is that it will absorb moisture from the hive; perhaps that is why your fondant is sticky? I make a fair bit of Belgian candi sugar for my beer brewing (very different product, but very similar procedure), and frequently run into the same issue. A batch which is hard and crystalline when prepared becomes a sticky, gooey mess when the humidity rises.

Bryan
 
#8 ·
Mine isn't usually sticky in the house, it doesn't feel all that sticky in the hive, I put it on top of the frames under the inner cover. yes the humidity is supposed to soften it. Realize, I'm in drought now, and was in drought all last winter, our relative humidity is very low and that may be why the fudgy works well on my hives, easier to soften in the hive
 
#9 ·
Around here, humidity is often at levels similar to what you'd find in the gulf region of Texas - 65% on the low end, daily averages in the 75-85% range, 90%+ humidity on muggy days and after rain. roadkillbob lives in a similar climate to myself, I think.

While fondant is new to me, I've been making candi for years, and back home (where it is bone-dry, year round, probably similar to where Gypsi is) it was never sticky. Here, I have to use a dehydrator prior to packaging, as even on the "dry" winters days there is enough moisture in the air to make the surface gooey.

Assuming that is roadkillbob's issue, higher heat (aka lower-water fondant) may not do much good.

Bryan
 
#10 ·
ok, im in the middle of making a new batch of fondant, im in the cooling stage waiting to put in the bee pollen substatute.., I never made candy or fondant this way before, so some learning process is in the works im sure...from what I see this time around, im going to the 250 degree temp, it took a while for it to boil and get up to 250..so im going to say the last batch wasnt boiled enough to the 238 degree range to boil off some water, I froze the other fondant after vacuum packing, so I dont know if the thaw process made it become sticky..I will see how these patties harden up and go from there, either way the bees loved the first batch, so I call that a success..lol..
 
#11 ·
ok this batch came out much much better..the patties have hardened much harder than last time with no stickyness at all..so Im going to say I didnt let the first batch boil long enough and get hot enough, only downside is you have to move quicker to get the fondant out onto the plates as it hardens way quicker than before, but it was manageable and wasnt a problem.. im going to feed the bees one of the new patties as soon as the other pattie I put in the hive the other day is gone...
 
#15 ·
well them bees are hungry little buggers, with the weather being warm and nothing in pollen for them to forage they have been eating the fondant pretty quick, so I will be making more as the so called winter keeps going, I would imagine at this rate if I didnt feed them they would burn through all their stores before winter is over and starve ...I put in some of the hard fondant that I boiled to the higher temps and figured it would take them time to eat such hard fondant..wrong that went fast too...but on the good side with such appetites im hoping thats a good sign of a healthy colony..
 
#16 ·
I am still fixing them syrup and trying to keep them from robbing each other out here. It is very warm, near 80 today and there is almost nothing in bloom. a few flower bed blooms but no wild flow, we are in drought, and somewhat in dearth, again. Cold comes tuesday, I will probably make fondant and switch them over tomorrow afternoon.

They burn through stores any time they are not in cluster. I also hung up a pollen sub feeder, but they aren't touching it so probably the queen has stopped laying
 
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