But its total NONSENSE. Almost ALL invert syrups for bee feeding are made by enzymatic methods, as its a cheaper process nowadays. Acid inversion is old technology. Very old.
I am not trying to sell anything, but if you don't choose to believe me then write to the technical departments at Nordzucker, Sudzucker, or Belgosuc.......other equally good makers exist.
Couldn't say on that C4u
She seemed like a serious scientist to me but I can't say if its right or not
I remember one of the first things I was shown by the chap I learned beekeeping from was making fondant with cream of tartar
The rest of the video about the different sugars etc was interesting with the exception of the heckler near the end who was a twit
Could not believe my ears when that woman described boiling old brood combs and feeding the liquid back to the bees
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I don't read German but this is the bit in English
http://www.nordicsugar.com/industry/...-invert-sugar/
The method used is hydrolysis but it didn't say enzyme so I looked that up and if they use enzymes them its likely this method
"Commercially prepared enzyme-catalyzed solutions are inverted at 60*°C (140*°F). The optimum pH for inversion is 5.0. Invertase is added at a rate of about 0.15% of the syrup's weight, and inversion time will be about 8 hours. When completed the syrup temperature is raised to inactivate the invertase, but the syrup is concentrated in a vacuum evaporator to preserve color.[6]"
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I have been in two of the factories and shown round and spent time with their technical departments.Originally Posted by The Drone Ranger
One...Sudzucker....were very irate at the allegations they would use acid in bee food.
All three companies I mentioned are ethical and go to great lengths to provide a good bee food. Also saw the fondant being made. Fascinating. No chemicals there either, just a huge cold roller to initiate the crystallisation of the correct blend of syrup.
They have all been dogged by people going on about acid inversion. Its a story that will not go away for some reason, never mind how false it is.
Probably no-one remembers the problems over 50 years ago with an acid inverted product called Bee Nite.......... desperate dysentery and bee death followed its use. That killed off most of these products as a bee food.
Last edited by Calluna4u; 02-12-2015 at 01:11 PM.
Hi C4u
I hear what your saying I'm not sure why she said European plants used acid inversion
When you went round did you notice if the description I copied in about enzyme hydrolysis of sucrose looked right
Apparently the fondant isn't inverted to glucose just straight powdered sugar (somebody told me on the beekeeping forum)
She also says that there is no benefit to the bees from inverting sucrose to glucose and fructose
The reason invert is popular with bakers is it give a shiny finish to icing and tastes sweeter according to wikipedia
Remember what I told you about scientists!
Takes one to know one LOl
Todays news ... off to check how many of my hives relocated to the North Sea in that breeze last night.
_87038462_desmond.jpg
And it's going to be windy again tonight ...
Last edited by fatshark; 05-12-2015 at 11:34 AM. Reason: Storm Desmond is on its way
Lol...she can say what she likes. If the benefits of good quality invert syrup were not perfectly clear to us....and actually its pretty stark....we would not pay out the extra money.
Also your story about the fondant is also incorrect. Watching it being made was fascinating.
A super saturated syrup is produced at quite a high temperature.....82% sugars. It is then trickled onto a very large and very slow turning very cold roller. It is trickled on via a wide bar, almost as wide as the roller, which I would estimate as being at least 3 metres wide. As the roller turns and takes the trickled on syrup (it does not really run as the cold immediately raises the viscosity to a near non fluid level) and as the temperature drops it starts to form crystals very fast. Low on the roller a scraper blade takes the already crystallising product off the roller and it falls into a hopper that narrows into a spout with a cut off plate at the bottom.
This spout is then used to fill the individual boxes of fondant (the blue liner bag is already inside) to the correct weight. The box is then closed up and sealed (the fondant is still only half crystallised and quite warm and definitely a bit runny for using) and stacked on pallets. It is stored for a period (I think it mentioned one to three days) for the crystallisation to complete, then it was sold on.
Fondant comes in a wide variety of grades, and the high gloss stuff is a slightly different grade from standard white fondant.
In the post manufacturing store they had fondant of several well known brands.....all being made the same way in the same factory. Just different packaging.
Sorry...forgot to add.....the manufacturing guys and the lab teams at Belgosuc were very clear about their process, and were always happy to show clients round and answer any questions. Sudzucker had a small team visited Scotland a few seasons back to answer just those types of misinformation. The fact they even operate a significant trial apiary and test their product constantly against all other feed options and natural honey too, and are happy to publish all their results (which on some occasions have been known to favour competitors product, albeit rarely) and again to answer all questions. The lead syrups are all made enzymatically from sugar beet syrup. They are not starch derived. However even starch derived syrups we have tried have, with one or two notable exceptions, been excellent feeds. The sweetness is not actually a function of it being invert per se. Its the fructose glucose ratio that determines that. Fructose is much sweeter than glucose, so the higher the fructose the higher the sweetness.
Last edited by Calluna4u; 05-12-2015 at 12:19 PM.
Thank you C4u for that explanation I'm sure you must be right
Still a bit dear though
You should book into the National Honey show and give a talk on feeds
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