Making Cream

[Dan W]

I'm going to attempt making cream this week. Can you over stir it? Will it get thicker the more it is stirred? I know it should be the consistency of peanut butter but just was wondering.

[Mapleman(Greg)]

Every time I make it it ends up about the same

[Sugarmaker]

Dan,
I think it may get thicker as you stir it. But I think the biggest factor is the temp that you boil it to that effects the final product consistency. If you are on the low side of the temp I believe it will tend to be thinner. On the high side and it will thicken up and go to a stiffer cream. Let us know how this works out for you.
Chris

[Dan W]

Well what a fiasco!!! The Maple Producers Manual says go 22-24 degrees over water. I started off with a 1/2 gallon of "A dark". My thermometer is in 5 degree increments so I went to the point where the "mercury" was just beginning to touch the 235 line. I put the pot in an ice water bath in the sink and cooled it down to 70 or 75. I then transfered the syrup to the Kithenaid mixer and began to stir on the lowest speed. After a while it started to lighten in color. There is a picture in the manual of the cream changing from a light amber color to a beige with the glossiness gone. All the while I'm thinking it wont be long now and I will be spooning this stuff into containers. Two and a half hours later it was still liquid enough that when I turned the mixer off, it would still level itself in the bowl and had a high gloss to it. Disgusted, I covered it, put it in the frig, and went to bed. When I got home from work I put it back under the mixer and it didn't take long to soften up and go right back to the consistency it was last night. It has a very fine grain to it that almost dissolves as soon as it touches your tongue and will slowly sag off of a spoon. I have only had one container of cream ever (made by a fellow trader) and it was as smooth as silk. This wont go to waste. It will be fine in oatmeal and cooking, I just didn't expect to end up with a half gallon for myself-that's two years worth!! So, what went wrong? Any and all input and criticism is welcomed. Thanks, Dan.

[Sugarmaker]

Dan,
My guess would be that your temp was low??
I would recommend you buy two digital thermometers. One to use one as a back up and to check the other one.
These need to read in .1 degrees
Test them in boiling water just before you are ready to make the cream. Note the temp that water boils at. At our place its usually around 210 to 211.
Adjust your final temp of the syrup based on that.
Try making a quart next time.
You could always make sugar out of the thin cream you have made.
You might even be able to reheat to a slightly higher temp and make it in to cream But my guess would be that it might get very grainy due to the grains already started.
This stuff is tricky.
Also some syrups invert sugar levels are much better for making cream too.
Good luck
Chris

[maplwrks]

Dan-- Only the lightest , earliest syrup, with the proper invert sugar will make good cream. I've never been able to make cream with DA. Also, you will buy a Kitchenaid mixer with every batch if think you can make cream in one. Trust me on this one---I've got 2 of them that wouldn't cut the mustard!!

[Dan W]

Chris, Thanks for the feedback. Definately digital next time. I did ckeck the candy thermometer in water and it read 210. I went to just shy of 235. Do you know where I can get the procedure for testing invert sugar with a glucose meter? I'll give it a try again once I get more organized.

Maplwrks, I hear ya on the mixer! I have the most powerful Kitchenaid they make and plan on only making small batches at a time. It has no trouble turning a gallon of syrup into sugar. If and when it goes I guess I'll spring for a real machine of some sort.

I'm selling at a Fall Festival tomorrow and thought I would take some cream. Nobody around here has really ever heard about it so I was pessimistic about making a lot

Thanks for the replies, Dan.

[ToadHill]

Here is the link to the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program website. It has all of the info you are looking for including how to test for invert sugar with a glucose meter. While dark amber can work to make cream it will only work if it is within the correct range. If the invert level is to high it won't crystallize and if it is to low it will be very grainy. You can blend syrups to get the correct level.

http://www.nnyagdev.org/_maple.htm

[Sugarmaker]

Dan,
How did your fall festival go?
Chris

[Dan W]

Chris, Not all that great. It was at a local church and they have two a year. I went in the spring and it was real slow-it was the first nice saturday of the season and it seemed like everybody stayed home to do yard work. I was told then by some other vendors to be sure to come back in the fall-way more people. Well it really wasn't that busy, but I am getting my name out there locally. Went to a flea market today and did over three times the business selling sugar, walnuts, and syrup. Lots of repeat customers there.
Dan.

[Hurry Hill Farm]

Dan,

The best investment you can make is to take Steve Child's confection workshop #1. You'll learn EVERYTHING you need to know, and more, about confections.

[Sugarmaker]

Dan,
Marketing can be just as much fun or work:) as making syrup.
Thanks for the update.
Chris

[Father & Son]

Dan,
I too have the biggest Kitchenaid made and only do small batches of cream (2 qt) and granulated sugar (3 qt) and have not overheated or hurt the mixer yet. I do imagine over time it will damage it but I don't have alot of customers that want cream so I cross my fingers with each batch! As has been already stated, early run syrup makes the best value added products, (sugar, cream, and candy). If you have the formulas and testing equipment to measure and adjust invert sugar levels this probably is the best way to reduce batch failures. The amount of value added products I make doesn't justify the time it takes to blend syrups to assure exact invert levels. People that make large quantities of these products follow these methods and I understand why. Stick with early run syrups and be precise with your temperatures and I think you will see good results.

Jim