Help - we beginners need advice from some pros

[sapsuckers]

This is our first year no hi tech equipment just a bon fire then the stove top. I think we overcooked our first couple batches there is sugar formed in the jars .
I'm wondering if i can reheat that stuff and melt the sugar and then add fresh sap to it to thin it out and then rebottle it or if its just shot for syrup use and i should try to make candy from it instead

[DonMcJr]

You need to filter the syrup right after you are done boiling it. That gets the sugar sand out...

Click this link then filtering syrup... http://www.sugarbushsupplies.com/mapleschool.html

[happy thoughts]

This is our first year no hi tech equipment just a bon fire then the stove top. I think we overcooked our first couple batches there is sugar formed in the jars .
I'm wondering if i can reheat that stuff and melt the sugar and then add fresh sap to it to thin it out and then rebottle it or if its just shot for syrup use and i should try to make candy from it instead

What you're seeing is unlikely to be sugar but sugar sand- the solids in sap that normally precipitate out when cooked and concentrated. Sugar crystals that look like rock candy can form if syrup is too dense but imho it's too early to see that yet if the syrup is just a few days old.

As Don said, filtering will help remove it. Or you can just let it settle out as you did and carefully pour out the clear portion. Then reheat but be very careful not to bring the syrup past 200F or more sand will be produced. Then rebottle into clean jars as you did before.

If you have a lot of sandy sweet stuff left you can mix the sandy portion with some fresh sap and refrigerate it for a day or two. The sand should settle out again. Then pour off the clear sweet stuff for your next batch and toss the sand. This way you can reclaim some of the sweet. This is what I do because I only make a couple of gallons and even a small amount of syrup is too much to waste.

[Richard Gress]

Fantastic website-Happy Thoughts! We do small batches for 7 years and have never seemed to completely work out the "art of filtering". I found a glass lemon aid container at Sears that holds a gallon and has a spout at the bottom that is about an 1/2" inch from the bottom. This is great for de-canting. Then reheat to 200F (as mentioned) and get into the mason jars before it drops below 190F. Rich

[happy thoughts]

Fantastic website-Happy Thoughts! We do small batches for 7 years and have never seemed to completely work out the "art of filtering". I found a glass lemon aid container at Sears that holds a gallon and has a spout at the bottom that is about an 1/2" inch from the bottom. This is great for de-canting. Then reheat to 200F (as mentioned) and get into the mason jars before it drops below 190F. Rich

What a great idea:). I probably have one of those jars around here somewhere. I think it was made for brewing sun tea.

[C.Wilcox]

Is the sugar actual crystals sticking to the side of the jar or just a thick gray/white blanket laying on the bottom of the jar? If the former, just add a small amount of fresh sap and thin it back out. If the latter, you've got sugar sand. Just ignore it until it's totally settled and then decant the liquid syrup into another jar.

[pa farmer]

Had the same problem when I started. If you take HOT sap and put it in the jar and swish it around it will disolve the "rock candy" in the jar. Just put the hot sap back into the boil. When you bottle the syrup DO NOT GET IY OVER 185 degrees. Take the heat off the syrup when it gets to 185 and can it. This will stop the candy. The best hi tech thing I have is a hydrometer and a digital candy thermometer. Trial and error and ask lots of questions.

[eustis22]

Hmm..I've just been using my hydrometer to get to the right sugar content...but my last batch has some crystals forming in the bottoom, and some cloudiness...I didn't check the bottling temp, just filtered it hot into hot jars....I paid no attention to its temperature

Guess I should reheat and refilter?

[happy thoughts]

If you trust the accuracy of your hydrometer and it says it's there, it's there, assuming you're using it correctly and correcting your reading to the testing temp if needed. That said, the bottling temp should have no effect on cloudiness.

Bottling temp matters but only because you want a good seal and a sterile environment in your container which hot syrup of the right temp can help do. Under 180-185F should be avoided. Greater than that and you're likely to see a greater loss of volume on cooling than if packed a little cooler so your containers will end up being a little less than full.

185F is like the goldilocks temp for bottling. But again, the temp you pack at should have no effect on cloudiness or nitre assuming you filtered. If you're seeing that then it's more likely something went wrong when you filtered. Or if you really suspect it's sugar then your hydrometer reading is really off.

[eustis22]

possibly some new prefilters are called for, the ones I used had a couple of finishing sessions on them....I'll re-bubble and re-bottle

[sapsuckers]

Thank you for all the info i do think its sugar however because its rock hard we have had the sugar sand in some of the other batches though which looks like sand and moves as u turn the bottle but this other stuff stays put even when turned upside down.
this is our first year and we really dont know much our filtering system consits of 2 papertowels layered in a colender over the pot. hes boiled the sap outside on the bonfire then we bring it in and filter it as above and then cook it the rest of the way and then bottle it. Heck we didnt even have a thermometer until just lately the neighbor told us to go by the look of the bubbles
another thing you said has me wondering does the syrup thicken as time goes by

[sapsuckers]

Thank you what a wonderful idea

[sapsuckers]

thanks for uour response i do think its sugar its rock hard and so i melted it down and added more sap to thin it rebottled it and the same thing happened maybe not enough sap?

[sapsuckers]

thanks for the info but we dont have a hydrometer or anything just going by the eye and the look of the bubble the neighbor made it sound soooo easy well its not we finally got a thermometer which hasnt helped much either when you cant see because the lines are so close together. Like i said its our first year i feel like a couple of hillbillies tryin to make syrup :lol:

[sapsuckers]

Thank you we had nothing we were told to go by the look of the bubble finally got a candy thermometer but too hard to read was wondering about a digital candy thermometer can you tell me where to get one cant find any around here in the stores.
Also you say not to bottle it if above 185 could that be why we have more stuff in the syrup on the ones we bottled immediately opposed to the ones that we didn't seal instantly which seem to be almost free of anything.

[sapsuckers]

i feel dumb but what is decanting we truely are new at this

[sapsuckers]

Thank you what a great website