I don't know what confectioner's sugar contains (apart from sugar, of
course).  I assume it is the same as what we British call icing sugar.
Previous posters have suggested it contains starch and/or cream of
tartar.  There is certainly something white and completely insoluble.
 
There was some cheap sugar available in my area recently.  It was a
mixture of icing sugar and plain granulated sugar.  The price was
attractive so I bought some but my load was almost emtirely granulated
sugar.  I just used it as normal and had no problems.  (I hope - we'll
see next spring!)  Other beekeepers I know had much a larger proportion
of icing sugar.  What they did was to mix it with hot water in the usual
way and leave it to stand for several days.  The white crud settled to
the bottom and it was possible to decant the clear syrup which was then
used as normal.  I've not heard of any difficulties apart from the
additional inconvenience in preparation but if there really is a risk
of dysentery, as Rick Hough suggests, it won't be obvious until next
spring.  However, I can't believe that acidity could be the cause of
this.  Natural honey is suprisingly acidic.
 
--
Malcolm Roe                            Phone  :  +44 442 230000 ext 4104
Crosfield Electronics Ltd              Fax    :  +44 442 232301
Hemel Hempstead, Herts. HP2 7RH, UK    E-mail :  [log in to unmask]
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