Honeycomb Recipe - melissassouthernstylekitchen.com (2024)

FAQs

How honeycomb is made step by step? ›

Bees make honeycombs by first secreting a wax-like substance from glands on their abdomen. This wax is then formed into hexagons that make up the shape of the honeycomb. The bees then fill the honeycomb with the nectar they collect from flowers and use enzymes in their saliva to turn the nectar into honey.

Chewy honeycomb happens when the mixture hasn't been cooked for long enough. This is most common when you don't use a sugar thermometer. If you don't heat the mixture to 149°C the sugar won't achieve the brittleness required for that crumbly, crunchy texture.

If your sugar syrup isn't hot enough, it will make your honeycomb very chewy. The best way to make sure your sugar is at the right temperature is to use a sugar thermometer. The mixture should be at the 'hard ball' stage, which is normally between 121-130 degrees Celsius.

White vinegar – one of the things that makes this candy unique is the light and airy texture of the toffee. We have the vinegar, in part, to thank for that! Vinegar reacts with the baking soda in the recipe to form little bubbles of carbon dioxide that give the honeycomb candy its airy, crisp texture.

What Is Beeswax? Beeswax is the substance from which honeycomb is made. It's the material that composes the walls of the honeycomb, allowing those beautiful little hexagons to form and fill with honey. We know bees are hard workers, and making beeswax is one of their many responsibilities.

Why Is My Homemade Honeycomb Chewy ? The syrup is taken off the heat too soon, it's a common mistake and one I made! Underheating the sugar makes the honeycomb sticky so it won't set correctly. Keep your eye on the sugar thermometer and make sure the temperature reaches at least 146 degrees C or 295 degrees F.

Instead, if it is enjoyable as is, I would suggest just eating it as a toffee like candy. Otherwise, chalk it up to experience and watch the temperature more closely next time. I have a batch of gooey toffee now too. So im just either enjoying it as is or adding bit or chunks of it to my coffee or ice cream.

The most common mistake that leads to chewy honeycomb is taking the syrup off the heat too soon in fear of burning it. To avoid this we recommend always using a sugar thermometer and make sure you get it to 150°C before removing it from the heat.

Heat softens honeycomb. Add a few small chunks of honeycomb on top of the bread. While the honeycomb won't melt entirely, it will become more pliable, allowing you to spread it on the toast with a knife or fork. As the honeycomb heats up, it will not only become softer, but more aromatic as well.

Why does my honeycomb go sticky? ›

Temperature – allow the sugar syrup to reach the required temperature of 149°C known as hard crack. Taking the syrup off the heat too soon is a common mistake, causing the honeycomb to be sticky.

What is the science behind this Honeycomb Candy? The baking soda (also known as bicarbonate of soda) heats up and when it does that, it releases a gas that gets trapped in the caramelized honey and sugar. This results in bubbles that resembles actual honeycomb from bees!

When you leave comb in the hive for months, especially in the brood section, it will start to turn dark brown. This is mostly from propolis. Propolis is plant sap. It is super sticky and usually various shades of dark brown or a reddish brown (but not always).

Regionally it may be referred to as sponge candy, sea foam, fairy food candy, or old fashioned puff in the US, and in Britain, it is often called Cinder Toffee with variances of puff candy in Scotland, Yellowman in Northern Ireland and Sponge Toffee in Canada.

They emit it in tiny flakes from their abdomen and chew it to make it soft and pliable. The bees then use their sharp mandibles to shape the beeswax, which turns soft when warm and hardens when cool. They bend and mold it into the hexagonal shape that we are so familiar with.

Honeycombs are made from beeswax, a substance created by worker bees. When the temperature is right, worker bees secrete wax scales from special glands in their body. Then they chew the wax with a bit of honey and pollen to produce the beeswax.

Immediately scrape into the tin, but be careful, as the mixture will be very hot. Leave to cool for 1-1½ hrs until the honeycomb is hard – it will continue bubbling in the tin as it cools.

Beeswax is the material that forms the basis of honeycomb. Honey bees secrete wax from their abdomen and use this to build comb. Comb is made up of hundreds of tiny hexagonal wax cells. The bees essentially use these cells for storage.