sludge at bottom of jar

[chefchap]

HI
I have a small backyard sugaring setup runing about 50 trees
when i bottle my syrup i filter it at the end with a cone wool filter
once the syrup settles in the jar i get this cloudy sludge at the bottom what can i do to fix this
thank you for any comments

[adk1]

gotta be sugarsand. Some trees/operations jsut get more of it than others. that wool filter wont take out all of it that is for sure. maybe you should filter it twice or use a pre-filter paper after the wool filter.

also, a pic would be nice so everyone can see

[TF Maple]

How about your bottling temperature? You want to stay below 190 degrees F so you don't make more sugar sand after filtering. Also don't wring out the filter which can loosen the fibers and let sand through. Some pre-filters could help too.

[Ausable]

HI
I have a small backyard sugaring setup runing about 50 trees
when i bottle my syrup i filter it at the end with a cone wool filter
once the syrup settles in the jar i get this cloudy sludge at the bottom what can i do to fix this
thank you for any comments

The advice You have received so far is very good - Another simple thing I do - When I open a new jar - I decant the Maple Syrup into another container and leave the nitre or sugar sand behind in the jar it was put up in and then just rinse the jar out with warm water and let the nitre go down the drain. In home made wine - there is always sediment in the bottom of the bottle and we do the same thing there. So by decanting - the Maple Syrup has a very nice apperance when placed on the table for use - a product to be proud of -- Mike

[Lukie]

I am still in the learning process and I am wondering I have a barrel stove that is made by are local school and works great 2x3 stainless pan and I can boil 50-60 gallons of sap in a day with a coil around my stack but I always finish of my batch every day can any one tell me if I started on A FRIDAY morning and boiled all day and let it set in the pan and started again Saturday and same on Sunday and finished it off Sunday night so I would have probable 3-4 gallons of syrup in the pan is it going to bother any thing I know it would not be amber color and probable a little more maple flavor from what I have heard ?? plus how do you post a new thread with out replying to a thread ?

[adk1]

I dont see a problem with that process. you post a new thread by going to the listing of all of the topics, choose your topic to go to that page. Once you get there, there will be a new thread button on the upper left.

[chefchap]

i will get a picture
maybe i was wrong with wording its more of a cloudy substance in jar

[buck3m]

Looks like sugar sand to me.

The ideas on pre-filters, not wringing your filter, and not heating it above 190 degrees with canning are all good.

I'll suggest what I often do to those with the smallest operations, akin to what Ausable said, and something that was standard with many if not most old timers: we take our whole batch of syrup and simply let it sit until it settles out. Glass is useful so you can see when it's perfectly clear, but we've used much larger, opaque containers and waited a couple of weeks to be sure. We slowly pour off the clear syrup, slowing down when we near the bottom. We stop when we reach sugar sand. We pour the dregs into a smaller container, or combine the dregs into one container if we originally used small jars. We let that settle out, pouring off the clear once more and throwing the remaining sugar sand.

As far as I recall we've had 100% success with this method. It's simple. No messing around with filters, no loss of syrup in filters.

[Southtowns27]

Put 5 or 6 paper prefilters inside your wool cone filter. It'll come out near crystal clear.

[adk1]

Buck2M is correct, that is probably the simplest way of doing it. the only downside is having to wait!:rolleyes:

[Ausable]

i will get a picture
maybe i was wrong with wording its more of a cloudy substance in jar

Hey chefchap -- I can see that You have made maple syrup for a few years now -- The stuff that settled on the jar bottoms in your pictures is nitre and the syrup above has a beautiful color -- But I do see the cloudiness that you refer too. Is this the first time this has happened with a batch of your syrup or does this happen all the time? If it is the one and only time it could be a residue of some kind from one oy your pans -- like liquid soap or some other cleaner... If this happens all the time -- I'm lost for ideas. Perhaps Dr. Tim or One of the Professional Syrup Makers on this site would know --- Mike

[chefchap]

Wanted to say thank you to everyone for all the help and advice
I have pretty much always had that crap on the bottom since i can remember didnt really worry about it, but now i am thinking of trying to sell some of this liquid gold and want it to look perfect so i will try a few of your ideas see what works

[whalems]

It is nitre. Use 5 or 6 prefilters and never let your finished syrup get above 195* filter immediately and bottle. Also, make sure your filters are damp, The syrup will go thru faster. As one of the pre-filters plugs up remove it pour the remaining syrup into the next filter trying not to pour the "crap" out of the filter. Hope this helps, Mike

[chefchap]

ok heres a question
i dont understand the idea of not letting syrup go above 195
i usually boil it hard untill it reaches 216-18 degrees since that was the way my father taught me
are you guys useing brix and refract tests?? is that why u keep it at 190-95 cus you can test the sugar content
ty

[ADKMAPLE]

I think what they mean is do not re-heat above 195, and typically you goto 180 before bottling

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

I am far from a pro at this but I think if you re heat above 195 you bring out more nitre, which means re filter it, so I have been told by others.
Draw off at 219 filter immediately then once I get enough syrup I will bring up to 180 check spec. grav. adjust if I have to filter and bottle

[VA maple guy]

Flat Lander Sugaring has got it right.

[Sugarmaker]

Couple of comments.
Looks like you have made syrup for a while. And you want to improve the quality another good thing.
Have you ever not had this problem with the settleing?
In other words have you made syrup, filtered and canned at some time and not had this problem?
Have you replaced the felt filter? Maybe it has a hole? That looks like a LOT of sugarsand! I have never seen that much sugar sand. We have uses felts for years with minimal problems with sugar sand.
As mentioned, finish the syrup on the evaporator at the correct density.
Immeadieatly strain the hot syrup through several perfilters and a new felt filter. When ready to can, bring the syrup to 175-180 F and can in your glass jars.
Keep telling us more about the way you are processing your syrup and the answer will come out for you.
Regards,

Chris

[Bruce L]

A prefilter paper would definitely help you,but better idea would be a flat filter set-up,even though you are small.If you could swing a flat filter and prefilter paper,then find a larger filter tank etc to filter into,you could always cut the flat filters to whatever size you need.The biggest problem with a cone filter is everything gets pounded through the bottom when you pour hot syrup in,and all of the filtration has to happen in the bottom few inches of the filter.We had a neighbour who used cone filters,had several going to keep up with the syrup coming off,found he still got nitre through as what had settled in the bottom of the cone was restirred up everytime another batch of syrup was poured in,the less agitation when filtering the better.
Hope this helps,Bruce

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

Flat Lander Sugaring has got it right.

dammmmm I was right woohoo gona have another beer thanks :D:lol:

[chefchap]

i have alwyas had a little so called sugar sand but never this bad after hearing everyones ideas i have found out a few problems
a. i bottle my syrup right after it comes to temp (218-219 the way my dad taught me lol)
b. i only filter once ( big mistake apparently)
c. i wring out my filter when i clean it so its prob losened up a little each year and i alwasy try to get that last drop out

where can i purchase these prefilters are they a speciality item or a run of the mill coffee cone filter??
thanks for all the help

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

I have a double cone style filter box. I put a prefilter under felt filter to catch any stray hairs from felt. I then put atleast three if not four prefilters inside of felt filter and remove them once they stop straining. This is all right of the rig. Once I have enough syrup to can I reheat it all and filter through 4 or 5 flat filters in my canning tank. I wash every thing with preheater water and re-use pre filters maybe once no more than two times. My syrup seems to be prety clean.

Prefilters can be bought at your local supplier of maple equipment or online.

[Sugarmaker]

i have alwyas had a little so called sugar sand but never this bad after hearing everyones ideas i have found out a few problems
a. i bottle my syrup right after it comes to temp (218-219 the way my dad taught me lol)
b. i only filter once ( big mistake apparently)
c. i wring out my filter when i clean it so its prob losened up a little each year and i alwasy try to get that last drop out

where can i purchase these prefilters are they a speciality item or a run of the mill coffee cone filter??
thanks for all the help

Ok, couple of points that have been made but I will probably repeat.
1., Try Leader evaporator on line for supplies.
2. Have your clean new felt damped and dont wring it our. place damp prefilters in side 1 to 3 of them ready inside the felt. They will catch the majority of the sugarsand.
3. Make the syrup at 219 F remove from heat and filter the syrup through the prefilters and the felts. Don't squeeze the felt while the syrup is straining let gravity do the work.
Your syrup should be very clear.
Regards,
Chris

[3rdgen.maple]

I have a double cone style filter box. I put a prefilter under felt filter to catch any stray hairs from felt. I then put atleast three if not four prefilters inside of felt filter and remove them once they stop straining. This is all right of the rig. Once I have enough syrup to can I reheat it all and filter through 4 or 5 flat filters in my canning tank. I wash every thing with preheater water and re-use pre filters maybe once no more than two times. My syrup seems to be prety clean.

Prefilters can be bought at your local supplier of maple equipment or online.

Its is funny you mentioned that. I switched from the wool syrup filters to the synthetic ones and first batch of the year even after an initial washing of the filter I had all these tiny little hairs from the filter in the glass. So I started putting a prefilter under the filter itself. I dont recall seeing that with wool.

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

Its is funny you mentioned that. I switched from the wool syrup filters to the synthetic ones and first batch of the year even after an initial washing of the filter I had all these tiny little hairs from the filter in the glass. So I started putting a prefilter under the filter itself. I dont recall seeing that with wool.

That how I saw my bro-inlaw do it for several years so I have just been doing it the same way. His family has sugared for Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaany years and Just following experiance.
I hope one day to move onto a filter press but that dam "money tree" out in the back yard just doesn't produce:D

[3rdgen.maple]

Same deal here, next year a filter press is on the top of the list for upgrades.