can syrup sit a while before bottling?

[johndeeret]

Help - Here is what I want to do - I want to bottle at the end of the day when I would have about 6 gallons of syrup. Lets say I make about a half gallon of syrup, put it in a bucket and let it sit. Each hour I draw off my evaporator, finish it and then I add it to the bucket. After 6 hours I have about 3 gallons that has been sitting unheated, but is still somewhat warm due to adding to it hourly. I would then bring it up to about 200 degrees and pour it into my filter/canning unit. Then keep it at 180 dgrees and bottle it.

I tried something like this yesterday but kept it in the canner at 160-170 for over an hour and it seemed to cook it more and get too heavy with a burned taste to it. Now I am thinking maybe I should not have heated it.

Any ideas?

[Jeff E]

dont try and keep it warm. If you can filter it right of the evaporator, you could save yourself some time. Take your draw off 1/2 gallon and pour it on your filter, nice and hot.
I assume you are using filter papers, orlon, not a filter press.
At the end of the day, or whenever you want within a few days, Reheat the filtered syrup to 185, and bottle.
The more heat you put to the syrup, the darker it will get, the more concentrated, etc.
A golden rule; Only heat as much as you have to, never more.

[RileySugarbush]

Any time you reheat with direct heat like a hot plate you are likely to create a bit of niter. Even if only heating to 180. Filter again!

[johndeeret]

yes - using wool filter. So do you think if I filter it in the canning tank right after it is finished and leave it unheated and just keep doing it till I am ready to bottle It would be almost as good as finishing it, filter it and bottle it immediately?

[maple flats]

Will be darker, but many wait. In fact some bottle most after the season, they sometimes do not filter or just prefer letting the niter settle out and then remove the clear syrup off the top, heat it and bottle the clear syrup.

[Dennis H.]

I actually let syrup sit in a covered pan in the sugarhouse for a day if needed to get enough to make it worth while to filter and fire up the bottler.
Never had an issue.
Once I have enough I heat it back up to 180 check density run it thru the filterpress into the bottler and hot pack it. Done. ready for next batch.

[johndeeret]

Because I don't have a filter press looks like my best option is to filter it into the canner right after it is finished and bottle at the end of the day at 180-185. If I go this route it sounds like if I am not careful and get it too hot I could get a little niter. Agree?

PS ; this is actually one of the "deals" My 16 year old son got me into this year. he had 20 taps this year and now has 120.

[Dave Puhl]

What I do is draw off finished syrup at the evaporater into glass gallon jars... then it sits for a few days when the weather is cool alot of stuff settles to the bottom... pour off and leave the dregs.... reheat to 180/185 filter with an prefilter and orlon then bottle.. keep a jar just for the dregs and that will settle out with time...

[johndeeret]

-So you pour out of the glass bottle and keep an eye on it and just stop pouring before you see the dregs come out. Then you take that and heat it to 180 and pour it into a filter and then bottle it. Correct?

[Dave Puhl]

johndeeret...that is correct,I wait till I get several gallons and a day when I not making syrup to bottle...I tried to do both at a time once and its to much that could go wrong in a hurry..

[wcproctor]

Thats funny I just did this for the fires time and it worked GREAT! I use old 1 gallon glass wine jugs.( drink the wine first:lol:

[johndeeret]

You don't put the pre filter in the orlon do you? Just keep the filters separate right? Does it go throught the filters any faster by letting the dregs settle out?

[Dave Puhl]

What I am useing is widemouth pickle jars that I have saved over the years ...when I draw off the jar has been preheated a little with some hot sap... the jar sits in a bucket ..I broke my first jar last season but I lost half cup of syrup only... mabe I forgot to preheat the jar...I will let the syrup sit for a few days.. then I use a thick bottom stock pot on a turkey fryer...I have a big coffee pot with a cone type orlon filer clamped up off the bottom lined with 3-4 prefilters...this is just my way of doing it and you dont have to use glass jars for holding syrup...its just what I have...

[RC Maple]

I just have a small hobby filter that uses felt laying in a basket with several prefilters. By the time the syrup runs through the filters it's nowhere near warm enough to bottle. I don't know much about filter presses but I assume you must have one if you can heat to 180 and bottle after running it through a filter again without it cooling off? I have only bottled a couple times but I run it through the filter after finishing then reheat to 180-190 and bottle. I like the idea of filtering right before it goes into the bottle but how can you keep it hot enough?

[Maple Hobo]

Be careful how many times you have to heat the syrup up. It will evap and you might overshoot the brix level and end up with chrystals in your bottles.

Figure out how many points your set up moves from cold after the evaporator, reheated in the finish pan and filtered then reheated in the canner.

If you get too high on the brix scale... add in some hot "almost" finished syrup from your eveporator... try not to add water like some people do, it can add minerals from your well or city treated water.

[Dave Puhl]

I am useing the qart jugs with heat actvaited sealing cap..I do 5 qt batches at a time and get two batches done with one orlon filter..the coffee pot is hot and if I have a little left over ot goes back in and gets reheated/refiltered... most of the time there is not much left over if you measure before hand ..yes it does cool down some ..I had temp tested the last qt and it was 175 ..if your filter is plugged it will take forever to get through and your lossing heat...this is my way ..maybe not for everyone...

[RC Maple]

Even the instructions for my filters said that if syrup runs through your filters quickly something is not right. If I finish on a turkey fryer - I can filter right after that. From reading other threads I see I may be able to cut my time by dampening the filters. How to avoid heating 1 more time?