Need Advise

[philkasza]

So we tried making cream again, when we stopped stirring it, it was fairly good but then became pretty hard but it would still melt in your mouth. This is how we made it.
-boiled to 234 stirring it to avoid hot and cold spots, boiling point of water was 210
-did not check invert sugar but had the 1st or 2nd run of syrup for this past year(cann't remember)
-took it off the heat and put directly in the freezer for an hour(don't know what temp. but a little warm to the touch)
-stirred for about 15min in the paddle cream machine until it was semi-flat and not glossy? it was not totally flat while stirring but after it sat a few min. it had very little gloss at all
-was probably about 3qts of syrup.

So the question is: Can we stirr it too long? can we cool too fast? after we shut the stove off can you move the syrup to the freezer or do we need to let it cool on the stove? does cream really firm up 5 min. after stirring?

Remember we are just learning and we have plenty of not so good cream to eat and would like to sell some soon so any thoughts, tips, advise, directions and any other comments would be well appreciated.
thanks Sam

[unclebuck]

Sam,
this is our way of making maple cream-- We boil the light maple syrup to 234 degrees(with out stirring dont want chrystals to form)then we put in a cold water bath to cool (I would think a freezer would work just as well) VERY IMPORTANT IN MY OPINION cool to 70 to74 degrees again with out stiring the lower the tempeture the smaller the chrystals then we will start to stir and continue until the gloss is gone and a flat tan color is acheived (sometimes we have let it stir as much as 45 minutes at this time the cream is finished and ready to jar up.remember it must be kept in the fridge because it is cold packed hope this helps

[red maples]

I would say freezer has too much cold air hitting the surface I use an Ice bath too. for me anything below 80* usually about 75-78* thats when I stir. And it will seem firm once it sets. There is some syrup that hasn't crystalized and it will disperse evenly throughout the cream and some may collect on top. when ever we are going to use it I pull it out of the fridge a little bit before to let it warm just a bit so it is easier spreading a little stir and its ready togo.

[vtsugarmaker]

Hi Sam,

234 is a good temp to cook to, but don't stir the syrup at all. When you remove from the heat, cover it with tin foil and put in an ice water bath. The ice water bath will cool the syrup faster than the freezer. You can leave it in the ice water overnight too. As Uncle Buck said, the colder the syrup is when you stir it the smaller the crystals - the smoother the cream! If it seems to be too dry when stirring, you can add a little syrup, a tablespoon at a time, to thin it out just a bit. It should slump in a container that is tipped up on its side, but not run out. I would say the syrup is losing too much moisture and that is why it becomes so stiff. Just add a little bit of syrup when stirring if this happens and you should be all set!

[unclebuck]

Just the other day we were digging thru the fridge and found some maple cream from last year when I opened it I found that the syrup had seperated from the cream a little so I put it in the microwave for 20 seconds (to soften) then stired it and had it on a peanut butter sandwich (oh so good) Point being it will stiffen up and it lasts a while if kept cold
Can't wait till we start in 2012

[ClarkFarmMapleSyrup]

I just made cream today. got out 3/4 of a pint of syrup. Put it in my pot, and boiled to about 230 or so, and then took it out and into another stirring pot. at first it looked way to thin, but I used a hand held electric mixer, like for mashed potatoes, and let it run. It was glossy alittle and it turned creamy fast. Still have to see how it sets up in the morning after a night in the fridge. also, a question. How long wil it keep in refrigerator, in a container?

[unclebuck]

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