Hi All,
I have been playing mad scientist in my kitchen, much to the chagrin of my wife who reminds me that she just mopped the floors.
While the Honey B Healthy recipe is available even here.
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,19276.msg145059.html#msg145059http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,6296.0.htmland in a bunch of other places on this forum. Let's face it. This recipe is for stuff you can put in a feeder and give to the bees. It is not the recipe for the concentrate. Which is what you buy from the bee suppliers.
So this is a recipe for the concentrate.
So after going and making a nice smelling kitchen and house. And about 14 batches I think I have what I want. Please note this is pretty raw experimentation stage.
Let's look at the ingredients.
Lecithin Granules. Available at most health food stores. I got mine at The Vitamin Shop. Big jar cost me about $15 as I recall.
Spearmint Oil. Ebay was my friend here. 8oz/.25L cost $17.00 which is a bit high but it was a decent sized bottle.
Lemongrass Oil. I bought a 16oz/.5L bottle for around $18.00 about a year ago.
Sucrose, Table sugar. 5lb/2.2KG
Water. Got it from the sink your price may vary.
Now in the normal recipe you are doing the sugar water mix 1:1 and then added a small amount of lecithin and a few drops of lemongrass and spearmint oils. It is a very good recipe and you certainly should use it.
Of course the old adage is oil and water don't mix. However that is what the lecithin is for. Let's do this:
1 cup water (approximately 8 fluid oz/.25 L) heated to just about boiling, but not quite. 190F / 88C.
1 cup sugar
Place in blender and blend at low speed until sugar is dissolved in water. Should take a few seconds not more.
Remember next time to place the lid on the blender. (This step if missed can cause an unhappy spouse).
Add 6 heaping tablespoons of lecithin granules.
Turn the blender on at a low speed cycle for just a few seconds. I know not everything dissolved but don't worry we will get back to it.
Add 1/4 teaspoon spearmint oil
Add 1/4 teaspoon lemongrass oil
Turn blender on at low speed for a minute ( it doesn't have to be exact ).
If you have done everything right you should notice the lemongrass oil slightly. You should have a pale looking orange juice (think pale yellow). Put some on your finger and rub your fingers together it should have a slightly viscous (thick) feel to it. That will get better as it cools down. So if you do it when it's warm it may not feel as viscous.
Now take this and store in a bottle or whatever will hold approximately 16oz of fluid.
Do not feed this directly to your bees.When you are ready you make your sugar water mix and add a little of the concentrate to the sugar water. If I recall the amount is 1 teaspoon to 1 quart.
Please note the real Honey B Healthy has sodium lauryl sulfate it is a surfactant. Also know as a wetting agent. If you really want a wetting agent you can add a small amount of Yucca Juice.
Please feel free to make any corrections or suggestions. If you know of another emulsifier besides lecithin that is cool too.
Sincerely,
Brendhan
