inconsistency of advice with respect to sugar syrup and candy

[the doc]

I cant tell you how many times I have read that one should not heat sugar syrup after adding the sugar. I have seen various reasons such as preventing carmalization, production of HMF, etc.

Now one can search this forum and find numerous posts about making hard candy, fondant, feeding hard candy, and its usefulness in supplemental feeding during cold months, or frankly during the summer as well.

When one makes hard candy, you heat concentrated sugar syrup to very high boiling temperatures (much higher than you would get with 1:1) near 250 F to drive off water and essentially make hydrated molten sugar. Now if this isn't high enough to make toxic by-products then certainly boiling dilute sugar syrup is not going to do this. I haven't seen anyone complaining that the candy killed their bees.

As you can see this is a great inconsistancy of advice with respect to boiling syrup, which does greatly increase its longevity for storage (ie kills fermenting yeasts and bacteria). So why is there this discrepancy in advice?

[Rusty Hills Farm]

Because all free advice is worth what you pay for it?

Seriously, the warnings about temperature that I've seen always referred to scorching the sugar because feeding scorched sugar is fatal to bees. Having never scorched my sugar syrup, I cannot say if this is true or not. I just assumed it was and avoided doing it. I've never made candy either, so I have no first-hand experience there.

Sorry not to be more help!

Rusty

[beeman2009]

As you can see this is a great inconsistancy of advice with respect to boiling syrup, which does greatly increase its longevity for storage (ie kills fermenting yeasts and bacteria). So why is there this discrepancy in advice?

You are absolutely correct! I have found the same to be true. I have found that everyone has an opinion and feels his/hers is the best way to go. The truth is many are correct. Why? Because many things can be done many different ways. Take your example; boil/not boil, really makes no difference. The important this was said by Rusty, DON'T SCORTCH OR BURN YOUR SUGAR! Experts say this will kill bees. I make inverted syrup all the time, never hurt my bees.

I gues what I'm saying is to take what you read here with a grain of salt. Some guys on here can be a real source of beekeeping education, others just dream they were.

[the doc]

Haha I totally hear you guys. I just thought it was funny how things get propagated and I just couldn't find any logic in what folks were saying

[jmgi]

This question could have an accurate answer fairly quickly if someone would volunteer to feed over-heated syrup to one of their colonies that are in desperate need of food, shouldn't be too hard to find someone to do that. John

[the doc]

Right john but we already kinda do by feeding hard candy. We just dont feed scortched sugar

[Baldursson]

if you google caramelizing sugar you will find that the temperature needed to do that is typically 300F+ here is the link for that info.
http://baking911.com/quick-guide/how...perature-chart

[Acebird]

I cant tell you how many times I have read that one should not heat sugar syrup after adding the sugar. I have seen various reasons such as preventing carmalization, production of HMF, etc.

Most / many people are not detailed oriented. If you were to heat syrup in a double boiler you could never hit 300+ degrees. I wonder why they make candy thermometers?

[ralittlefield]

Will a double boiler allow you to get to the 250 - 260 degrees required for hard candy?

[Acebird]

NO. It is all in the details.

[ralittlefield]

NO. It is all in the details.

What are the details? I was under the impression that you needed higher temps than you can get with a double boiler.

[Baldursson]

A double will only reach around 212 degrees. 212F degrees being the temperature of boiling water. might get a little hotter if the upper pot is making a tight seal but not much. If you look at that link I provided you see the various temperatures and what kind of "candy" it will make. To make a hard candy you need to heat up to around 250F degrees which will still have some water in the sugar.

[SWM]

I've never made candy because the recipes make me dizzy and seem like way too much time and trouble. I try to avoid emergency feeding in winter but use other options when necessary.

But there is no need to scorch your syrup. I crank up my water heater to 160 and dissolve sugar right from the tap...no need to boil it. I usually mix 100 lbs water (12.5 gal.) with 100 lbs. sugar when I'm making 1:1 and it makes about 20 gallons of syrup.

As for stabilizing the syrup by boiling, you can get the same result by adding HBH at a rate of 1 Tsp. per quart...no mold or fermentation.