Stan Sandler wrote: > I also do not understand why a hardened sugar product makes excellent > winter feed, when granulated honey or syrup does not. Here we go again. I would put the order from best to worst: sugar syrup- fondant (which is better called a soft candy than hard sugar product) - granulated honey. Check the commercial beekeepers and they feed predominately sugar syrup or HFCS for winter feed. It is the feed that will be in the cells for use by the bees over the winter and is the best winter feed. Fondant is fine but requires an additional change of state, caused by moisture in the hive which liquefies it. I use it for spring feed, but not for winter. It is a good supplemental feed and my guess is, for those who feed it in the fall, it does not come into play until the late winter/early spring if the bees went into the winter with normal stores. Plus, fondant is more expensive than either sugar syrup or HFCS. It makes little sense to use it as a fall feed but is excellent as a late winter, early spring feed since it does not promote early foraging by the colony, as syrup might. It has saved many colonies of bees when used this way. The problem with granulated honey is that it can go from granulated to liquid in stages so fermentation of the honey can take place, which is harmful to the overwintering bees. The Hive and the Honey Bee has an excellent description of the chemistry involved. To prepare sugar syrup, it is best not to boil it but dissolve the sugar in warm water. However, the harm to the bees is still not that great if boiled (I use to boil it). We are talking degree, something measurable in the lab but probably not noticed in the real world, so not a major problem. But why boil it if you do not have to? I would not feed heated (boiled) honey to a colony for any kind of feed, winter or summer. Sugar and HFCS are cheap and not harmful. As far as the "caramelization" of honey in a boiling water bath, I will leave that to others. The taste changes but I am not sure if you could call it caramelization in cooking terminology, since, with sugar, you also have a different physical structure (solid), while the honey is remains in a liquid state. I would call it "burnt" which is a term I have heard from others (and is also used to describe caramelization- burnt sugar, so I think we are in the "what is Fondant" question again). That is only my opinion, so someone else can give you a technical response. Bill Truesdell Bath, Maine :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and other info --- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::