bad sap

[fatjacks]

How do you know if sap is bad? I am in ny and we just had our first of the 50+ degree weather and I am worried about the sap. Some of it looked a little yellow. This sap has only been in the buckets since sunday and it was freezing cold both nights and it barely got to 40. Any thing would help?

Thanks

[hambone]

You can smell it, it smells like dirty socks. Sap can have a yellow tint. It usually takes a few days of warm weather to spoil the sap. You might freeze some jugs filled with water and throw them in sap or bury it in snow.

[Maplebrook]

Sap will look cloudy when it it just about spoiled. Sap that has frozen in buckets looks yellowish due to the water freezing and the sugar not freezing. The "yellow" is concentrated sap. Mother Natures RO at work.

[Adammp1]

...so what happens if you boil bad sap?

[jmp]

Depends on how spoiled it is. Because there is more microbial activity, your sugar content is going to be a lot lower than fresn sap e.g you aren't going to get the ratios you would with fresh sap. Naturally occuring microbes and yeasts convert the sugars in the sap. So, lower ratios. Older sap will also make darker syrup. Personally I like the darker stuff more and it wouldn't bother me. If sap is too far gone you will make syrup with off flavors. Judgment call on your part. You can smell and taste the sap. If it tastes bad chances are the syrup will taste bad as well. Good luck!

[Brent]

Now if you're talking metabolic or buddy sap, you'll know without a doubt you've got it. The smell of it boiling will just about make you sick to your stomach.

The real trick is to keep yesterday's good sap seperate from today's buddy sap so you don't spoin the good stuff by
mixing it.

[fatjacks]

I boiled the sap yesterday and the syrup came out fantastic. I am new to this but for sap that was 2 days old I got 1 gallon out of 35. It was my best ratio this year. I appriciate the help. This is a great site.

[johnzprecision]

If you taste the sap can you tell the difference between buddy sap and good sap.

[Adammp1]

ok...so I pretty much know I boiled some spoiled sap. It didn't look yellow or smell particularly bad during boil, but the near-finished syrup is really dark; it does taste very sweet though. What I'd like to know, is there any health hazard to using syrup made from possible bad sap?

[happy thoughts]

ok...so I pretty much know I boiled some spoiled sap. It didn't look yellow or smell particularly bad during boil, but the near-finished syrup is really dark; it does taste very sweet though. What I'd like to know, is there any health hazard to using syrup made from possible bad sap?

No, the long boil at the high temp needed for syrup is going to kill anything that might have been growing in there. As long as it tastes good it's fine.

[SevenCreeksSap]

ok...so I pretty much know I boiled some spoiled sap. It didn't look yellow or smell particularly bad during boil, but the near-finished syrup is really dark; it does taste very sweet though. What I'd like to know, is there any health hazard to using syrup made from possible bad sap?

I'm hoping dark isnt necessarily from bad sap. I've been getting darker syrup from the second boil in feb, so I wouldnt throw it out yet, It looks like a lot of people are getting darker syrup this year, so that may be other factors. if your syrup is sweet and the sap didnt smell or look bad you may be okay.