Can't not get a dark syrup no matter how hard I try

[farmer12071]

I have been boiling for about a week now I boil deep and keep adding my sap till I run out and then boil off to syrup at the end.ive done this for 15yrs and have always had rich dark syrup this yr it seems all I get is a light syrup I know most people strive for light but me and all my customers like dark.the only thing I've changed this year is I got rid of all my galvanized pans and collection tanks and went to stainless is this the cause of the light syrup

[Sunday Rock Maple]

Possibly, but more likely it's the sap. A few years back everyone in this area started out making dark for several runs (not even the old timers could ever remembeer this happening before) and then it turned light and stayed that way right through the end. I think there a still a lot of unknowns regarding sap quality.

[maple flats]

Each season is different, but this is why I saved my com. from last year. The flavor was truly excellent, but the color too dark. Now I blend it to get dark amber.

[lew]

Count yourself lucky. The last 3 years we have not been able to make light. I feel like I've been cursed. Like Flats said though, you can always blend your good flavored commercial into that light and make a nice Dark.

[RileySugarbush]

I once put some sealed glass bottles of light in a pressure cooker filled with water for an hour. Darkened it about a grade or a bit more.

Just an experiment......

[Waynehere]

Funny, all I have made this year is all dark? One batch of about 5 gal had a metalic taste, but the rest of it has had a nice taste, just a little on the dark side. I tapped Feb 4th and never got any light syrup, but have heard others around me that had it looking like ginger ale?

[lpakiz]

John, I've wondered about that. I have heard that storing sealed syrup in daylight results in darker syrup. You made it darker by continuing the cooking process without further evaperation. Did the flavor also change to be consistant with the color?

[red maples]

a few things it is still early in the season. so you can and will get lighter syrup. If you hold your sap a little longer before you boil it you will need to experiment with time. you can get darker syrup your sugar will drop slightly in the sap and you may need more defoamer, and have to skim off more brown gunk off the top but it will give you darker syrup. The other thing is don't clean your flue pans either. leave the old niter in there as the niter ages it will turn a darker color and continue to give a richer flavor and color to your syrup. this is what I have found anyway. most of my customers like the dark and Grade B. a few like the med. and I can't even give away light syrup!!! I have a few that use it in there coffee because it has very little flavor!!!

[RileySugarbush]

John, I've wondered about that. I have heard that storing sealed syrup in daylight results in darker syrup. You made it darker by continuing the cooking process without further evaperation. Did the flavor also change to be consistant with the color?


It did seem to have a richer flavor. I think it's an experiment that's worth repeating. It's probably much easier to accomplish the same thing by recycling it through the evaporator a second Time.

[happy thoughts]

It did seem to have a richer flavor. I think it's an experiment that's worth repeating. It's probably much easier to accomplish the same thing by recycling it through the evaporator a second Time.

This sounds a lot like stack burn, where syrup can turn darker after bottling if too little space is left between the hot filled containers. The syrup keeps cooking in the bottle because of the high temp and too slow cooling. If you want darker syrup you might be able to use that to your advantage.

[RileySugarbush]

Yes, the idea was stack burn on purpose.

[dje5717]

we had the same issue here in KY. no light stuff at all..all dark sure would have liked a quart or 2 of the light stuff