Holy crap!!!

[lfdiaff]

Well I upgraded my blower from a little round fan to a centrifigal blower and WOW. What a big difference now I am having a issue with foam. i was told you can use a little bit of olive oil on a butter knife and run it through the syrup but I dont want it to tase like olive oil. Is there anything else I can use until I get foamer from sugarbush supplies. I have heard of heavy creme does this work?

[Walling's Maple Syrup]

Well I upgraded my blower from a little round fan to a centrifigal blower and WOW. What a big difference now I am having a issue with foam. i was told you can use a little bit of olive oil on a butter knife and run it through the syrup but I dont want it to tase like olive oil. Is there anything else I can use until I get foamer from sugarbush supplies. I have heard of heavy creme does this work?We have used the organic non-stick cooking spray such as PAM. This works good and does not disflavor the syrup. ATMOS defoamer made by Leader is the best commercial defoamer out there.

[Russell Lampron]

You can use canola oil. It works as good as the Atmos defoamer and doesn't leave an after taste.

[killingworthmaple]

I have used the cooking spray in the past with good results. This year I decided to do it right and ubuy some ATMOS, I don't think it works any better it has to be warmed because it hardens at a low temps and leaves a lot of residue on the sides of the pan. I am thinking of going back to the spray next year. Make sure you don't get the garlic flavor type or the ones with flour in them.

Nathan

[Walling's Maple Syrup]

I have used the cooking spray in the past with good results. This year I decided to do it right and ubuy some ATMOS, I don't think it works any better it has to be warmed because it hardens at a low temps and leaves a lot of residue on the sides of the pan. I am thinking of going back to the spray next year. Make sure you don't get the garlic flavor type or the ones with flour in them.

NathanNathan, How much Atmos are you using per fire? We are currently using about 15 drops every 20 minutes, boiling on a 5x14 evaporator. We add it while filling with wood, while the boil is at the least, that way it dilutes through the whole pan. Maybe you are using too much? I haven't noticed any more residue on the pan sides than the canola oil. You are right though; it does solidify when exposed to lower temps.

[Ren]

I have been using organic canola oil. Two or three drops every time it starts to foam up. I can't believe how well it works!

[killingworthmaple]

Well I was at a seminarand and listened to a speaker from Leader and they said to put in 2 drops for every foot wide the evaporator is every time you fire. So I have a 2x5 so I put in 4 drops every time I fire. I found that was more than I needed so I am using 2 drops and it works fine I don't have any foam. But I have found it don't work any better and has some disadvantages.

Nathan

[Walling's Maple Syrup]

Probably the canola oil works just as well for you and in your situation i would stick with that, but we are running 15% concentrate through our ro and have found that the atmos keeps the foam down for longer. We were spraying with canola oil every 4 mins.

[oneoldsap]

Back in the old days we used heavy cream .

[killingworthmaple]

I could see where it could work better with concentrate.

Nathan

[Vermont Creation Hardwood]

I never use defoamer when boiling. Granted I'm a very small producer and use the batch method. Using the batch method means I never get the foam and thus never need to add this ingredient. My syrup is consistently light near to the end of the season and is the best tasting of any I've ever tried. Yes I know I'm biased, yet I've tasted and taste many commerical syrups and they tend to be bland. I've tasted a few really off tasting syrups.

The only time I use a defoamer is when processing syrup into sugar. Never for syrup production.