Ultra-fine powdered sugar 15 kg, no starch added

01 · THE DIFFERENCE FROM ICING SUGAR

The starch that helps there is filler here

Confectioner's icing sugar almost always carries an anti-caking agent, usually starch, so it does not set in the packet. In baking that makes sense; in bee feeding it adds nothing and it is an ingredient the bee cannot digest, so in a patty it ends up as filler and in the gut as load. This one is starch-free: ground sugar and nothing more.

02 · WHAT IT IS FOR

Lump-free syrup, patties and dusting

The ultrafine grind does three things. In syrup it dissolves fast and completely, without the lumps granulated sugar leaves in cold water. In patties and candy it gives body without heating the mix, which is where HMF climbs. And for dusting it goes straight onto the bees — a technique used for varroa drop counts, not as a treatment.

03 · HOW TO STORE IT

It is the most hygroscopic thing in the workshop

The finer a sugar, the more surface it has and the faster it takes up moisture from the air. This cakes sooner than granulated, so keep the sack closed, use dry utensils and close it again as soon as you measure. Store it off the floor and away from damp walls. If it does set, it still works for syrup but stops dusting properly.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

It is a raw material, not a finished feed: it supplies carbohydrate and nothing else. If what the field lacks is pollen, no sugar replaces it. And for making syrup in volume, the 25 kg granulated white sugar works out better: the fine grind only pays when you actually need it.