What Temperature To Store Sap Overnight?

[Sugar]

I am in Southern Ky. Lets say, our eyes are bigger than our pancakes. We just brought home another 68 gallons of sap.

Would it be OK, to leave it in buckets, with lids, outside overnight? I will start cooking it down tomorrow, when I am done cooking down 150 gallons...One stainless steel, wood fired canner, 3 stockpots on kero cookers, and three stockpots in the kitchen...

Our temp. now is 48 and it is supposed to go down to 36-38 overnight.

Thanks for your help!

[happy thoughts]

If that's what you have then that's what you have. You're supposed to handle sap like milk and 48 is kinda on the warm side. It's also going to take a while for the sap to cool enough to match whatever low temp you get tonight. It probably won't be too bad to boil, people have been known to keep sap for several days outdoors, but I'd probably want to get to it as soon as possible tomorrow.

Can you freeze a couple of gallons of sap to throw in the buckets in the AM? That will buy you a little more time until you can get all the sap boiling. You could also freeze some extra sap for the next 68 extra gallons:)

good luck and make some great syrup!

[Sugar]

Thanks Happy Thoughts! Not what I wanted to hear, but wouldn't feed my children sour milk, and not planning on feeding them sour maple syrup. I managed to get 24 gallons cooking, 6 in a fridge, and the rest sitting in big crates, with ice water. I covered it all. I did this last night, and there was still ice in the crates this morning and tonight is supposed to be colder. I just wanted to be lazy and leave it all in the van. Maple syruping, is not for the weak! I will get the rest of this cooking early tomorrow, and add whatever I collect tomorrow. I doubt we will get so much tomorrow, since it hasn't frozen again. Then again, I didn't think we would get anything close to what we got today. It was in the 40's last night, so today was a big surprise. The taps were still dripping away, when we emptied them today.