Mark Egloff wrote:
 
 
>      I have read of candy boards and even attempted once to make "fondant"
>     candy according to recipes I found in my wife's candy cookbook.  All I
>     succeeded in doing was using up 10lbs of sugar and making a thorough
>     mess of the kitchen.  The only reason I wasn't banned from the cooking
>     area was that I spent a couple hours cleaning sugary crystals off the
>     linoleum and waxing up the floor nice and shiny again.
>
>     Give me your thoughts (and recipes and tips) on using candy for
>     emergency food.
 
As you were kind enough to clean up after yourself, other husbands take
note, your wife should let you back in the kitchen and this is what you will
need:
 
                               Icing Sugar, Glycerine, and a drop of water .
 
We tried making candy from a supplied recipe and found that it went rock
hard. I frequently make fondant icing and to keep it soft you need the
glycerine, unfortunately for fondant icing you also need corn syrup, after
experiments, we found that just icing sugar and glycerine with a tiny drop
of water make a perfect bee candy. Put it in the fridge overnight and then
knead more icing sugar into it the next morning, it must be kept to a firm
but not solid paste, otherwise the bees can't work with it. Icing sugar is
also referred to as confectioners sugar. Measurements are dependant on the
number of bees that you are feeding so the only answer is experimentation.
 
Happy Holidays,
Jean Eyre
 
 
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