Invert sugar mead?

From: http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/honey-information.html

Question 3: Invert sugar is sucrose broken down into glucose and fructose. So, honey is an invert sugar. Is it correct?
Ans: This statement is correct. Chemically, honey is invert sugar. It has a mishmash of both glucose and fructose. The only difference is that honey is honey bee-processed, whereas invert sugar (e.g candies) is man-made!

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Obviously, invert sugar won't have the same flavor as types of honey, but can you consider invert sugar to be artificial honey?

Making hooch with just sugar isn't something I'm interested in. However, I'm curious about making a "mead" with invert sugar. I know it's not a true mead and I don't expect it to take the place of mead in my house. But I wanted to cook up some invert sugar anyway, and if I could make something drinkable out of it, that would be an added bonus.

Opinions?

I don't think it will taste anything similar to mead, honey is made up of many more compounds and just sugar. I wouldn't do a batch of only invert sugar, maybe use it if you want a lighter flavor while keeping the alcohol up.

You could do this, but a sugar solution isn't going to smell or taste like honey. I'll save you some trouble however, and suggest that you just use table sugar (sucrose). You don't need to waste time and energy to invert the sugar. The yeast have an extremely rapid and effective invertase enzyme that breaks sucrose apart. These enzymes are attached to the cell wall. It functions even when the yeast cell wall is stripped off the cell so it costs the yeast nothing in terms of energy to do this. So I would just dissolve the sugar in water and let'em have it.

Well, darn.

I have made invert sugar (belgian candi sugar) using table sugar and cream of tarter, and there are several colors. It would be interesting to blend honey with amber or dark invert sugar, or you could invert a sugar with more character like Jaggery, piloncillo, turbinado, maple syrup.

What kind of ratios would be recommended for honey:sugar?

Rahahb said:

Well, darn.

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If you googled for any of the distilling forums, you can read about how to make "sugar wash". I was curious so I tried a taste of some a friend made and yes, it's bloody horrible. It was easier to wait until he'd distilled it out and taste the distillate - damn that was like the fireyest vodka I'd ever tasted........ Hideous but Ok with a mixer.

Reviving an old thread rather than starting a new one....

I've seen recipes for "artificial honey" where you steep flowers to make a tea and then add sugar and invert it into a sort of honey flavored syrup. I'll be trying this on my next batch of pyment to see how different the result is.


[edit]...Here's the recipes I've found:

Homemade Artificial Honey
The more formal name for table sugar is sucrose. Inverting the sugar speeds fermentation because it is the glucose and fructose molecules that the wine yeast will eventually turn into the alcohol and carbon dioxide produced in the fermentation process. The invert sugar recipes below use lemon juice but you can substitute citric acid, ascorbic acid, alum, or cream of tartar depending on what you have on hand at the time. Invert sugar is made by mixing two parts table sugar to one part water, and adding two teaspoons lemon juice per pound of sugar. The mixture is brought almost to a boil and then reduced to a vigorous simmer for about 30 minutes. There should be no residual sourness from the lemon juice by that time. Pour the invert sugar syrup into a sealable jar, and refrigerate until cool. You can make a large batch and use it for several wine making sessions. Invert sugar is used for fermentation only. Do not use invert sugar to sweeten a finished wine as it may restart fermentation. Unless you are making champagne, bottle fermentation seldom has a good outcome.
Recipe 1
4 cups sugar
2 cups water
1 tsp lemon juice

Inverting sugar is simply done by heating water until it boils. Then add sugar and acids. Cook it for about next 30 minutes. Then move it away from fire and leave it to cool down.

Recipe 2
10 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon alum
3 cups water
2 cups fireweed blossoms
1 cup red clover blossoms
2 1/2 cups white clover blossoms

In a large saucepan, bring water, sugar and alum to a boil and boil for 10 minutes.
Take off heat, rinse off blossoms in strainer and drain well (be sure not to leave any green parts on blossoms or honey will be wild or grassy tasting).
Stir in blossoms and steep for 3 hours.
Remove flowers, strain through cheesecloth if necessary.
Reheat to a boil, then pour into jars and seal.

Recipe 3
2 1/2 cups white clover flowers (No green parts)
1 cup red clover flowers (No green parts)
Petals of four wild roses
10 cups sugar
1 teas. alum
3 cup water

Wash blossoms and drain well.
Bring all ingredients except alum to a boil and stir slowly.
Add alum and stir 60 times (no more, no less).
Turn heat off, allow to steep for 3 hours.
Strain mixture through cheesecloth, reheat to boil and pour into clean sterilized containers.
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