Finishing syrup

[Tom59]

I am boiling on a single hotel pan rig, therefore gonna be doing small batches. Will it affect the taste or quality of the syrup if I bring a batch to near syrup, put it in fridge, make another batch to near syrup then combine the two or maybe three to finish later? These batches will probably be around 1 quart or so in size. If so how long can it sit in fridge before finishing? (I dont mean weeks, maybe 2 3 days tops.) Plan on finishing in house while another batch boils outside. Thanks Tom

[spencer11]

i dont think you need to put it in the fridge..i dont but i finish more than you would. i guess i would put them in the fridge just in case though. you should be fine combining batches. i did that all last year. it is almost pure sugar when you put it in the fridge so it should last a very long time.

spencer

[Big_Eddy]

Not a problem. I have a 20liter stock pot that lives in the bottom of my freezer during syrup season. Get as close to syrup as you can, pour it into the stock pot. Repeat until the pot is almost full, then take the whole pot and finish it on the propane burner (or the stove). It's more efficient to finish and filter in bigger batches anyway (the filter will "drink" the first quart of syrup)


I'd recommend the freezer instead of the fridge, and use a food-grade stainless container to hold it in. I've had syrup sit in the freezer unfinished and unfiltered from one season to the next, and I couldn't tell the difference in taste.

[Ausable]

Tom - You will be just fine. Your near Syrup will keep for a long time refridgerated. If You don't have a a syrup hydrometer and a test cup of sorts - I would get one. That way You will know for sure when you have good maple syrup. I played around for years without a syrup hydrometer and made so-so syrup. My opinion is that a syrup hydrometer is something we small producers can't be without. Most of us mix our syrups in some fashion during the boiling and finishing. Once in awhile - You will get a batch of near syrup that has great color and you want to show it off - lol - I don't mix that. Most of the time mine is on the dark side and most folks think that is how maple syrup is supposed to be......but --- beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Hey - You will be just fine - Your idea makes good sense to me. --Mike--

[Tom59]

Thanks for the replys & advice. This is a great site!!!!! I plan on storing it in sterilized glass mason jars. Those should be ok I hope. Been searching site for info on hydrometers ( ton of it here). Hoping to make a purchase soon. Thanks again Tom

[spencer11]

i only put my syrup in mason jars. it will be fine. make sure the syrup is reheated to at least 190* but not boiling(that will produce niter). pour the hot syrup in the jars screw on the lid and flip it over so any bacteria on the lid gets killed because of the hot temp. the jars will work fine.

spencer

[Tom59]

OK, broke down & bought a hydrometer & cup today. Does the cup size matter? One I got is 1 inch dia. by 8 inch high, stainless. Also what is the right reading for Brix. Reading different posts here there are different answers to that. :confused: The one I just got has 59 hot at 211 deg. & 67 cold at 60 deg. One more ? How much syrup do you put in the cup? 1/2 full, full? Instructions a little iffy. Thanks. Tom

[spencer11]

im not sure about the brix. i just use hot test. the cup size should be about the same size at the hydrometer. you want to put the hydrometer in the cup and the fill it all the way to the top with syup. the hydrometer will float if it is close enough to finished syrup. or you can fill it all the way up and then put the hydrometer on but it will push some syrup out so have tomething to catch it!

spencer

[500592]

The hydrometer should float at the redline

[spencer11]

my filters just got here. i have the 22x30 or so filters. that is way bigger than the filter/canning unit im making. can i cut them in half so they fit better? thanks

spencer

[SSFLLC]

You can cut them just make sure that they go up the sides and over a bit. you don't want them just sitting on the bottom.

[spencer11]

okay good to know. so now i have twice the filters for the same price!

spencer

[buckeye gold]

I test hot and float the red line above the syrup, that's makes no mistakes in density and better syrup. If your testing cold or less than "hot test" temperature then here's a link to a correction table for various temps starting at 66 Brix.

http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/08-003.htm

As for filters, you can cut them to fit. I made a cylinder filter unit with a fryer basket and my wife sews up filters to fit perfectly inside it. She cuts a round bottom and sews sides on it, I put two prefilters on top and pull one after about 1-2 minutes and pull the second in about 5 minutes, but syrup is usually through it. I also set my filter basket with filters in it over my steam pan to preheat them so they won't cool syrup. I pull the filters off direct steam and put them in my preheated pan to drip about 5 minutes before filtering so i won't be diluting syrup. I check about every third batch at cold test after filtering to be sure I'm maintaining 66.5 brix and have not found a light batch yet.

[wiam]

I test hot and float the red line above the syrup, that's makes no mistakes in density and better syrup. If your testing cold or less than "hot test" temperature then here's a link to a correction table for various temps starting at 66 Brix.



NO you want the red line at the bottom of the meniscus for a hot test. This is level with the syrup and not where the syrup goes up just a little bit on the stem of the hydrometer. This is why the test cup needs to be as full as possible to see to get an accurate reading.