Apipasta ® 15kg

01 · HOW TO PLACE IT

Open just enough and leave the wrapper: that is what stops it drying

The commonest complaint with any fondant is that it dries out, and it is nearly always the same cause: opening the wrapper too much. Make one cut and lay the bag with the plastic on over the frames — the wrapper is what holds the paste's moisture and, incidentally, stops bees sticking if the day turns warm. The other condition is space: you need room between the frames and the crown board; if you have none, an empty super or a top feeder solves it.

02 · WHY IT DOES NOT HARDEN

Crystal averaging 15 µm and 10 % water

The paste is made by recrystallising sucrose to a crystal size averaging 15 µm: finer than what a bee would have to dissolve, so she takes it without effort. And each crystal is coated in a thin film of glucose syrup, which is what keeps the paste soft. At 90 % sugars and 10 % water, the texture holds all year: it neither hardens in winter nor liquefies in summer. That is what sets it apart from a badly formulated fondant, which crystallises unevenly and ends up a block nobody touches.

03 · ACCEPTANCE

They eat what the colony can warm

Some people report mixed results — some hives take it well and others barely — and the explanation is nearly always the same: a paste is consumed when the colony can reach it without breaking the cluster. Placed right over where the bees are, with the hive active, it disappears; propped in a corner, or with a weak colony and unsettled weather, it stays untouched and it looks as if they do not like it. It is not taste, it is temperature.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

This is the version without protein: energy and maintenance. If you also want a protein contribution, Apipasta Plus carries 3 % with the ten essential amino acids — though that one does not replace pollen either. And the standing rule: do not feed during a flow if you are going to harvest that honey for sale.