Very Dark Syrup?

[Waterbird17]

I am pretty new here, as i said in my other post, I have 30 taps out and i'm pulling 15-20 gallons a day, which for me it a big LOAD.

I've been cooking and my sap is been turning very dark, like coffee dark. I know that it is not finished to syrup because it is still very thin, but it is getting so much color. Could I be burning it? am i doing something wrong? The batch I finished a few weeks ago finished so dark that I couldnt see through it in the bottle?

Any info you have would be great.

Thanks

[adk1]

I am pretty new here, as i said in my other post, I have 30 taps out and i'm pulling 15-20 gallons a day, which for me it a big LOAD.

I've been cooking and my sap is been turning very dark, like coffee dark. I know that it is not finished to syrup because it is still very thin, but it is getting so much color. Could I be burning it? am i doing something wrong? The batch I finished a few weeks ago finished so dark that I couldnt see through it in the bottle?

Any info you have would be great.

Thanks

what are you boiling on and are these sugar maples or red/soft maples?

[Waterbird17]

I have mostly sugar maples with a few Norway Maples mixed in.

[adk1]

I have mostly sugar maples with a few Norway Maples mixed in.

The Norways maybe the issue then

[The Birdman]

I'm tap in sugar maple my syrup is also dark. I'm going with the drought we had this summer.

[Waterbird17]

Could that be the problem? Last yeah I had mostly norways any the syrup came out fine, just had less sugar contact took longer to cook.

[danno]

Batch boiling will generally cause darker syrup. Also, are you filtering the syrup once done boiling - filtering will lighten up the syrup considerably. Regardless, if it's for home use, it all tastes good.

[Waterbird17]

thanks, what kind of filters are best? I was using coffee filters and it was taking FOREVER. is cheese cloth a good alturnitive? is there some special type of cloth to use

Thanks again

[The Birdman]

Waterbird
I use cheese cloth/ flour sack I just double it works good.

[3rdgen.maple]

Could be many things. What is your gph, how long are you boiling, how much are you finishing at one time, how long did you hold sap before boiling it? If you are burning it you will no instantly as it smells.

[Waterbird17]

I am cooking maybe 2-4 gph, I boil the same batch for about a week at a time until it finished at a gallon of syrup. I have stored my sap for no longer than a week and a half.

I guess it hadnt burned because it smells like syrup, maybe a little carmel scent.

Thanks again for all the infromation

[gmcooper]

Boiling for a week will give you syrup darker than driveway sealer! Finish your syrup in much smaller batches. Get a cone filter from one of the maple equipment suppliers to filter with. The norway maples won't make enough difference for you to ever notice in syrup grade.

[TapME]

I am cooking maybe 2-4 gph, I boil the same batch for about a week at a time until it finished at a gallon of syrup. I have stored my sap for no longer than a week and a half.

I guess it hadnt burned because it smells like syrup, maybe a little carmel scent.

Thanks again for all the infromation

And storing sap for long periods will make dark syrup. Here we call it our personel stash for it taste great.

[C.Wilcox]

thanks, what kind of filters are best? I was using coffee filters and it was taking FOREVER. is cheese cloth a good alturnitive? is there some special type of cloth to use

Thanks again

It might seem strange, but new, clean white t-shirts make great filters. Keep your syrup hot and it will pour through pretty well.

[Waterbird17]

I tried filtering through shirt material and well it didn't work. I was hot "almost syrup" and wouldn't go through the material. next i'm gonna try cheese cloth


Meanwhile, I have reached maximum capacity and bring in my sap because all of my storage i full. its quite a delema:o

[sk8heaven]

I have only been doing this for three years but ... I know that if you store the sap more than a day or so you can see the sap turn light yellow (i store my sap in white buckets so it is obvious). Still is good, just starts coloring. Small batches that you can finish in 24 hours is best. I have 50 taps, sugar maples only, and process everything within 24 hours of collection. I have never had any syrup darker than "light amber" - even late in the season.
I use orlon filters available from most maple supply stores and they do a wonderful job!

[kiegscustoms]

I would definitly not boil the same batch for a week. If you want to bottle a whole gallon at once boil what you can for the day, get it close to syrup, put it in a container and do that each day you boil until you have enough and then reheat it and bring it up to finished syrup temp all at once. Gas stove works good. That way you won't have stuff in there that has been boiled for 10 to 20 hrs at 2-4 gph and has been heated and reheated several times. Everything gets heated twice instead of 5 to 6 times. Also a cone filter is a good investment, get some prefilters too, It will make life alot better. I started on a steam table pan on a little wood stove and that method worked good for me. I also know that on small scale you don't want to waste any product so when you are done filtering your syrup run hot water through the cone from the inside to try to get as much sugar content out and put that back into your sap or another container and mix it into your next batch. You should only have to filter when you have finished product. Hope this helps.

[Waterbird17]

Thanks guys

The problem again is that I am such a small scale. I'm only 17 and spend all day at school then i come home at 3 and cook until around 10. What i've been doing it taking a big pot filling it to 7 gallons cooking down 3 or 4 gallons a night and then putting in another 3-4 gallons the next day each day until i get 40 gallons in the pot. I think with the information you guys gave me, I am going to use a large steamer pan i have and cook a separate batch of sap each day and add it to the larger pot and then go from there.


Thanks again for all your help.

[3rdgen.maple]

Well does the syrup taste good? If so I would just keep doing what works for you. Dark syrup has the best flavor anyways. Some things you could try if you like would not to put so much sap in the pot at once just put a couple inches in it and keep adding sap as you go. I think it will boil off faster as there is less sap to heat all at once. And if you have a larger steamer pan with a bigger surface area on the bottom that is the pan you want to be using as it will boil harder and get you faster results. Maybe use the pot as to preheat sap so the sap is hot as you add it a little at a time to your steamer pan then once you get closer to syrup finish it in the pot if the steam pan is to be and syrup would be to shallow to boil it down without burning it. I remember those days and wish it was all that simple most days.

[seclark]

waterbird17, what are you using to boil on.My first year I used a three burner propane stove and used three pots to boil.Two were like pre heaters and the middle one was the finishing pot.It took a long time to boil that way but was faster than putting cold sap into a hot boil and having to start over.As someone mentioned to deep a liquid takes longer also.As far as filtering goes make sure the filter material is wet before you filter,run very hot water through it first as dry material will take forever if at all and coffee filters don't make it.Where in north jersey are you located,I lived in west milford before moving to n.y.Good luck with your syrup making and whatever color your syrup is it will be great. Stan

[Waterbird17]

This info is great guys, thanks so much

I am located outside morristown.


I am going to finish a gallon today, i'll let you know how it comes out