Sugar Bricks, or Cakes For Winter Feeding

[Jen]

Last year about this time Bakers, and Riverbee, and I were discussing a new way to make sugar bricks without all the boiling and candy thermometers. More like putting all of our ingredients into a big bowl, or kitchen aid, mashing and stirring till thoroughly mixed, then pressing into pie tins.. leave in the oven overnight by the light of the oven

Where would I find that thread again? 

[Bakersdozen]

https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/index.php?topic=6293.msg80456#msg80456

Jen, It's entitled Sugar Bricks.

I am glad I posted my "recipe" on this thread because I can never remember and I probably wouldn't remember where I put the recipe!   

[Jen]

Yaay Baker, Thanks

I'm going to demonstrate how to make these very simple cakes/bricks to my bee club. They are all talking fondant and are getting recipes. But really, fondant is A LOT of work! And to be honest I've made candy with the thermometer, and tried to make sugar cakes with the boiling 240 temps, and frankly, I think it's down right dangerous. I get hot droplets of sugar syrup pop up onto my skin. My glasses fog up.... and so forth.

This recipe is so darned easy and last year my bees ate it up! I love it

Thanks for your help Baker ~hugs~

[apisbees]

All I will say is fondant is a any time any condition feed where sugar cakes can be a poor feed for the bees if not all the conditions in the hive are favorable when the bees desperately need it.

[Bakersdozen]

All I will say is fondant is a any time any condition feed where sugar cakes can be a poor feed for the bees if not all the conditions in the hive are favorable when the bees desperately need it.

apis, please elaborate on which conditions you are referring to. This has me wondering.

[Jen]

Curious too Apis... not liking the corn syrup in fondant. Then if you make fondant from marshmallows, there is the powdered sugar issue.

[apisbees]

use sucrose from cane sugar. not sugar from sugar beets or corn syrup. if you are feeding fondant, do it right. their are some commercial produced fondants available.

[Bakersdozen]

I thought I would refresh this thread as it is about that time of the year.
I recently heard Dr. David Peck, from Betterbee, talk about sugar bricks for supplemental winter feeding. He said that Betterbee recommends 1 Tablespoon of water to 1 pound of dry sugar. The sugar can be beet or cane.  He strongly urged beekeepers from adding an acid whether it is citric acid or apple cider vinegar. He did say you could add HoneyBHealthy or Lemongrass oil to attract the bees with a scent.
Here is a link to a video about making sugar bricks by Betterbee.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ac06LAW3yw

[PappyRick]

Hey Baker,  what was the reason Dr. Peck advised against acid, like apple cider vinegar?  The recipe I use includes 1 1/2 Tbsps of apple cider vinegar.  I've been using that recipe for several years and it seems to improve my hive survivability through the winter very well.  If the apple cider vinegar has detrimental effects, I haven't seen them, but don't want to either.

Thanks.

[Bakersdozen]

Dr. Peck was talking about Digestion and Nutrition when he said they did not need acid in their diet. He said that honey bees already have the required chemistry in their guts and didn't need added acidity. Today I found two different recipes on Betterbee's website. One with apple cider vinegar + citric acid powder and then the recipe Dr. Peck was referring to, 1 Tablespoon of water : 1 pound of sugar. So perhaps the addition of acid was misleading on Dr. Peck's part. More likely I misunderstood what he was saying.
Are you familiar with Clarence Collison? His recipe for sugar bricks:
25# granulated sugar
1 Qt. Apple Cider Vinegar
3 T. HoneyBee Healthy or Pro Health
3 T. Citric Acid
This recipe is used by many of our beekeepers in this area without problem.

[PappyRick]

I probably got my recipe from this website, and since I only have 6 hives, my volume is considerably smaller, but my recipe is as follows:

8 lbs of sugar
1/3 cup water
1 1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp Honey B Healthy

Combine and press into loaf tins and bake at 140 - 180 F for 4 - 5 hours.  This makes about 9 small aluminum loaf pans.

Thanks for the reply.

[Bakersdozen]

I emailed Dr. Peck for clarification. I probably should have done that prior to posting.   
This is copied and pasted from his response to my question about adding acid to sugar bricks.
"Acid in a sugar brick, because there is no water in the mix, does not allow HMF to form from fructose (and doesn't even allow the acid to invert the sugar from sucrose to fructose, which also requires it to be floating suspended in water.)  It is probably unnecessary, but there is no reason to believe that the acidified bricks will harm the bees. The smell of the vinegar may even help them find the bricks in the hive."