ibby458
02-28-2006, 08:45 AM
I'm new to this site, and have been reading old posts to catch up. Just for fun, I thought I'd detail how we did it and maybe elicit some commennts, suggestions or possibly give some tips for beginners.
WE'll be boiling on a real evaporator this year with bigger production, so I know our old ways will change. Up until this year, we used a 2 1/2 x 5 partitioned flat pan, boiling off 10-20 gph (depending on wood, firing frequency, barometer and who knows what!)
We gathered into a clean SS tank covered by a window screen to catch the coarse stuff. A new submersible pump pushed it thru a homemade Pop on filter into a clean SS storage tank. (All tanks cleaned as soon as they were empty)
From the storage tanks, we used the same pump to pump it into the pan, manually controlled. We'd pump in an inch of sap and boil it, kicking on the pump periodically to keep the desired minimum level. (MY wife is braver than I am. I run it 1/2 " - she kept it around 1/4") The fresh sap always coming into one side make a sort of gradient. The first channel was pure sap, the last one almost syrup.
We'd keep boiling until the hydrometer read 1 or two brix ABOVE syrup level, then kick the sap pump on and drain off the syrup into a wool cone over the SS pail, drawing off about a quart or 2 until the hydrometer read about 3 degress UNDER syrup. Close the drawoff, shut off the pump and fill the fireboox.
Carry the pail (and filter) into the house. Put the filter into a large SS stockpot to finish dripping and pour the syrup thru another filter to a large steam table pan on the stove. Years ago, we came across a bunch of 1/2 inch felt sheets. We boiled rectangles of them good, and they are clothespinned to the top of the steam table pan.
Repeat until done for the day - usually one pan full - 5 gallons finished syrup. We gently squeezed all the filters out into the stockpot and sat it aside to settle. (We would heat and refilter the clear syrup that rose to the top - discarding the nitre on the bottom. We put the clear syrup in with the bulk syrup))
All the filters were rinsed from the backside with hot water, then washed in a clean washer with hot water alone, every night.
We turned on both stove burners under the steam table pan, and brought it back to almost boiling. It's usually just about right density, but we boil off or dilute as necessary to get it right. I dip the syrup out with a clean sauce pan and bottle in sterilized glass or metal cans. Plastic containers we just rinse out with hot water. One secret we discovered is to wipe off any drips on the sealing surface before capping. Reduced our mold problem to ZERO. No more leakers when we invert them, either.
Once the syrup turns dark, we only can a couple gallons of it. The rest gets filtered off the evaporator, reheated and adjusted on the stove (No extra filtering on this grade), and poured into new food grade 5 gallon pails with lids. (Washed and rinsed in HOT water, but not sterilized)
I agree with Bruce Bascom - If I can boil it, and they'll buy it, I make it. Stuff I wouldn't care for myself still brings me $12/gallon, so we gather and boil every drop I can get. I sold enough B & C grade last year to pay for all my jugs and filters. Leaves more profit. (Or less loss, to be more honest)
The buyer tested density, of course. In 4 - 5 gallon pails, 3 were exactly perfect, and 1 was 1/10 brix high. I can live with that.
When he dumped the pails into his drums, there was only a few tablespoons of nitre in the bottom, which he left there.
We put up all our personal syrup in 12 ounce glass handle jugs. I date each cap, and can show potential buyers the color of the syrup in the can they're buying. Obviously, we put up more of each batch in glass of the grades we like, but I do at least 2 bottles of every day's production. The Opaque tin & plastic bottles get dated so I can correlate it to the glass bottlles.
Since we started doing it that way, our syrup is clear as a bell after settling a few days. I think at least some cloudiness is just minute air bubbles from the filling process. We usuall have a tiny layer of niter in the bottom of each bottle, but not enough to cover the whole bottom.
I hope I haven't bored anyone too much, and hopefully passed along a tip or two that can be used.
WE'll be boiling on a real evaporator this year with bigger production, so I know our old ways will change. Up until this year, we used a 2 1/2 x 5 partitioned flat pan, boiling off 10-20 gph (depending on wood, firing frequency, barometer and who knows what!)
We gathered into a clean SS tank covered by a window screen to catch the coarse stuff. A new submersible pump pushed it thru a homemade Pop on filter into a clean SS storage tank. (All tanks cleaned as soon as they were empty)
From the storage tanks, we used the same pump to pump it into the pan, manually controlled. We'd pump in an inch of sap and boil it, kicking on the pump periodically to keep the desired minimum level. (MY wife is braver than I am. I run it 1/2 " - she kept it around 1/4") The fresh sap always coming into one side make a sort of gradient. The first channel was pure sap, the last one almost syrup.
We'd keep boiling until the hydrometer read 1 or two brix ABOVE syrup level, then kick the sap pump on and drain off the syrup into a wool cone over the SS pail, drawing off about a quart or 2 until the hydrometer read about 3 degress UNDER syrup. Close the drawoff, shut off the pump and fill the fireboox.
Carry the pail (and filter) into the house. Put the filter into a large SS stockpot to finish dripping and pour the syrup thru another filter to a large steam table pan on the stove. Years ago, we came across a bunch of 1/2 inch felt sheets. We boiled rectangles of them good, and they are clothespinned to the top of the steam table pan.
Repeat until done for the day - usually one pan full - 5 gallons finished syrup. We gently squeezed all the filters out into the stockpot and sat it aside to settle. (We would heat and refilter the clear syrup that rose to the top - discarding the nitre on the bottom. We put the clear syrup in with the bulk syrup))
All the filters were rinsed from the backside with hot water, then washed in a clean washer with hot water alone, every night.
We turned on both stove burners under the steam table pan, and brought it back to almost boiling. It's usually just about right density, but we boil off or dilute as necessary to get it right. I dip the syrup out with a clean sauce pan and bottle in sterilized glass or metal cans. Plastic containers we just rinse out with hot water. One secret we discovered is to wipe off any drips on the sealing surface before capping. Reduced our mold problem to ZERO. No more leakers when we invert them, either.
Once the syrup turns dark, we only can a couple gallons of it. The rest gets filtered off the evaporator, reheated and adjusted on the stove (No extra filtering on this grade), and poured into new food grade 5 gallon pails with lids. (Washed and rinsed in HOT water, but not sterilized)
I agree with Bruce Bascom - If I can boil it, and they'll buy it, I make it. Stuff I wouldn't care for myself still brings me $12/gallon, so we gather and boil every drop I can get. I sold enough B & C grade last year to pay for all my jugs and filters. Leaves more profit. (Or less loss, to be more honest)
The buyer tested density, of course. In 4 - 5 gallon pails, 3 were exactly perfect, and 1 was 1/10 brix high. I can live with that.
When he dumped the pails into his drums, there was only a few tablespoons of nitre in the bottom, which he left there.
We put up all our personal syrup in 12 ounce glass handle jugs. I date each cap, and can show potential buyers the color of the syrup in the can they're buying. Obviously, we put up more of each batch in glass of the grades we like, but I do at least 2 bottles of every day's production. The Opaque tin & plastic bottles get dated so I can correlate it to the glass bottlles.
Since we started doing it that way, our syrup is clear as a bell after settling a few days. I think at least some cloudiness is just minute air bubbles from the filling process. We usuall have a tiny layer of niter in the bottom of each bottle, but not enough to cover the whole bottom.
I hope I haven't bored anyone too much, and hopefully passed along a tip or two that can be used.