brix and crystals

[sticky face]

I have done some searching here trying to find at what brix crystals will form.
Does anyone know how many points over is safe? I am at 69 brix cold test
and according to the temp correction chart i have (72 degree syrup) it should be 66.2.
Thanks in advance for any help anyone may have.

[bearair]

I can't tell you what brix will form crystals but if you pull your syrup at +8 instead of +7 above boiling you will make Rock Candy.

[happy thoughts]

I have done some searching here trying to find at what brix crystals will form.


There's no easy answer to that. Crystallization is also affected by temperature with cooler temps tending to form crystals earlier. How low will the temp go where you plan to store it?

FWIW- VT sets the maximum density for legal syrup at 68.9 brix at 60 degrees F. I figure there's probably a good reason for that since we can probably agree that VT knows maple syrup :). It may or may not be because of the increased potential for crystallization.

[happy thoughts]

Here is some good info on maple sugar chemistry and crystallization. Not only is temperature a factor, so is the type of sugar present in the syrup. Syrups higher in invert sugars (glucose and fructose) are less likely to crysatalize than those that mostly consist of sucrose.

http://www.nnyagdev.org/maplefactsheets/CMB%20202%20Chemistry%20of%20Maple%20Syrup1.pdf

http://www.nnyagdev.org/maplefactsheets/CMB%20206%20Measuring%20and%20Adjusting%20Invert%2 0Sugar%20in%20Maple%20Sugar.pdf