Crystals in Maple Cream

[chenango maple]

Hello all. I am having problems with grainy maple cream. I tested for invert with a one touch ultra mini tester and it tested low although I do not have a great deal of faith in the tester. I got several error messages and used a whole lot of test strips which are not real cheap. I got two readings of 26 and 27 which I think would be at the low edge of useable for cream making. Anyway the last batch came out perfect. I only boiled to 230 because of low inverts and put in the fridge overnight undesturbed and stirred in the morning with a kithchen aid for 30 minutes. It was smooth, creamy and no crystals. I put it in a plastic cream tub and back in the fridge ovenight. The next morning I checked and the crystals are back. Why would the crystals form later on? Any suggestions would be appreciated. I am making more maple sugar than I need from cream attempts gone bad.
Thanks
Charlie

[lew]

My first guess would be that you didn't stir it long enough. when you are stirring and your crystals start to form your syrup goes from a dark taffy like consistency to alighter color as the crystals start to grow. At this stage the almost cream will have a shiny appearance to its surface. The cream is done when the shiny surface goes away and your surface has a flat appearance (flat as in no shine, like the difference between a gloss paint and a flat paint.). If you stop stirring before it goes flat, the sugar crystals that are already formed will continue to grow and become larger, thus giving you a sandy, crunchy, crystally, whatever you want to call it, cream.l

[Amber Gold]

I've found if you don't get it cooled quickly enough that I'll get a few large crystals to form, but the cream itself is still smooth.

[wiam]

I have been told not to cool in fridge because vibrations from compressor will start crystals.

[chenango maple]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I will try, try again.

Charlie

[ziggy]

cooling in the frig is ok, just put a towel under it to dampin the vibration which causes the cyrstals

[Sugarmaker]

Several things:
- Yes the fridge might vibrate it.
- I would also make sure you have scalded you pan and equipment to remove and possible sugar grains hanging around.
-Also I have not had good luck with using a mixer they just don't seem to have the right agitation.
- I used our Hobart mixer and the cream looked good until the next day an then had crystals as you described.
- getting the invert level can help a lot too.
Regards,
Chris

[Russell Lampron]

I put the pan of syrup in ice and water in the sink. I let it cool until it is 70* or colder then stir and stir and stir with a wooden spoon. The cream comes out nice and smooth.

[chenango maple]

I found Chris (Sugaraker)s comment interesting that the mixers do not seem to work well. I had that thought also. Is anyone else using the kitchen aid or Hobart mixers and having good results? Chris did you end up getting a paddle machine? I know hand mixing works but it is pretty hard work. I have been putting off buying the cream machine as they are quite pricey. I may have already reached the point of no return on investment on this business (hobby) already. :lol:

[unclebuck]

never used a kitchen aid mixer because i've been told that you can burn up the motor making maple cream with it. WHAT WE HAVE USED FOR THE PAST 6 YEARS IS AN OLD PAINT MIXER DRIVEN BY A CHAIN WE DID REPLACE THE MOTOR LAST YEAR AS IT FINALLY DIED. Where the paint can sits we shimmed to allow a ss pot to fit then we made a ss paddle in place of the paint stirrer. This will stir about 1/2 hr cream comes out great. Heat light syrup to 234 degrees and cool to 70 degrees. cooling is done by a circulating pump coming out of a pan filled with water and as much ice as we can fit. we do about 1-2 gallons at a time. never came up with large crystals

[chenango maple]

Yes I only use a couple pints of syrup at a time. The kitchen aide seems to handle that without much stress. I would not try a gallon though. I am sure that would burn it out.