Okay, this is one of those ongoing arguments: some say “yes” and some say “no.” But first, why is cream of tartar even an issue?
Cream of tartar, also known as potassium hydrogen tartrate or potassium bitartrate (KC4H5O6), is a white, powdery, acidic substance that is a byproduct of the wine-making industry. It is found on the inside of wine barrels after the grapes have fermented. The tartrate is processed into a salt which has many culinary uses.
Candy makers add cream of tartar to sugar syrups to prevent crystallization. Without the addition, candy made from sugar syrup has a grainy texture. With the addition, candy has a smooth, glossy, and creamy texture.
When beekeepers started using candy recipes for making bee supplements, many left the cream of tartar in the recipe. It was left there without much thought about its purpose. So basically cream of tartar in “bee candy” is just an artifact remaining from “people candy” recipes.
Although the debate continues over whether it harms bees, I’ve never seen data from even one controlled scientific experiment concerning this issue. So, in short, I’m just as clueless as anybody else about the chemical’s effect on honey bees.
However, since we don’t know if it causes harm, and since it doesn’t appear to be a part of the honey bee’s natural diet, why give it to them? So the sugar cakes are gritty–so what? I’ve never heard a bee complain about gritty-textured candy and I’ve never seen a bee push away from the table when presented with it.
So stop being so anthropocentric! Just skip the cream of tartar and make bee candy with sugar, water, and one of the essential oils known to be good for honey bee health such as spearmint or lemongrass. That’s it—there is really no need for corn syrup, cream of tartar, vinegar, preservatives, stabilizers, emulsifiers, or anything else humans may like in their sweets.
Rusty
Freshly poured candy cakes made from sugar, water, and a few drops anise oil.
MREs for bees. Pop out the candy cakes and you can re-use the paper plates.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Allen Larson. Allen Larson said: Will cream of tartar hurt my honey bees? « Honey Bee Suite http://bit.ly/eBf63h [...]
Good photos. This is exactly how I plan to make some candy this weekend. I’ve got recipes that call for cream of tartar, though, and another one that calls for apple cider vinegar.
So you made yours with simply water and sugar, and that did the trick? Hmph.
Hi Rusty, Thanks for the excellent website. Re the use of cream of tartar in feed: One reason to use some kind of acid in syrup and candy is to bring the ph down to that of honey. Honey is more acidic than sugar (honey ph 4-5 or so, sugar 6-7). According to my local bee expert who is also a naturopathic physician, this difference is important to bee health. It is easier on the bees if the syrup is reduced to ph 4-5 using lemon juice, vitamin C powder or cream of tartar (maybe vinegar, but she doesn’t recommend it). I use color coded ph strips to test with, and it is easy to bring the ph of syrup down with a small addition of one of these substances. While there may not be any scientific studies on the subject, it does make sense to me.
Lauren,
You bring up an interesting point and I can certainly see the logic behind it. Honey is indeed quite acid and the honey bee digestive system is designed for it.
My seat-of-the-pants feeling is that I would still prefer the lemon juice (or vinegar) because bees in captivity (i.e. winter) seem to have a difficult time with solids such as those found in cream of tartar or vitamin C powder. Even dark honey (which contains many solids) is said to cause dysentery more often than light-colored honey (which has many fewer solids.)
That said, I add vitamin C powder to pollen patties and nearly everything in a pollen patty is solid. It is a confusing issue.
I’m sure there must be a paper on this somewhere and I’m going to look it. You’ve piqued my interest!
Thank you for writing and thanks for the compliment. I appreciate your input.
May I have the recipe please?
Vickie,
Do you mean the recipe for sugar patties? I got confused. Several people wrote the same day and asked for the Bienenstich recipe, but now I see this is attached to a different post. Oops.
It’s posted here somewhere. I’ll find it.