mathprofdk
03-12-2012, 12:43 PM
Last year was my first year sugaring, and I made a couple gallons from some big silver maples. Right away when I first boiled, I recognized the smell from my childhood - brought back memories! At the end of the season, I boiled a batch of sap that in retrospect was clearly "buddy". Just nasty stuff, and made syrup that, while sweet, was inedible.
This year, it seems like the sap has had a slight "buddy" odor and taste to it from the start. Even the boils didn't smell quite right. My dad didn't notice it, and my wife says the syrup tastes just fine. I swear, though, that even boiling it didn't smell like it did last year. And I can taste just a bit of that same flavor, though the syrup does taste good.
I read in another thread about Dr. Tim's research regarding "metabolic" flavor, and I thought that might be it. (What do I know?) I boiled my first batch up to 235 as recommended, and then diluted back to syrup, and I didn't notice the flavor after that. I didn't bother with the rest of the batches, though, because it seemed like I was the only one bothered by it.
Anyone had this happen before? Am I just hypersensitive to the memories of that nasty buddy syrup last year?
Thanks for any ideas.
~DK
This year, it seems like the sap has had a slight "buddy" odor and taste to it from the start. Even the boils didn't smell quite right. My dad didn't notice it, and my wife says the syrup tastes just fine. I swear, though, that even boiling it didn't smell like it did last year. And I can taste just a bit of that same flavor, though the syrup does taste good.
I read in another thread about Dr. Tim's research regarding "metabolic" flavor, and I thought that might be it. (What do I know?) I boiled my first batch up to 235 as recommended, and then diluted back to syrup, and I didn't notice the flavor after that. I didn't bother with the rest of the batches, though, because it seemed like I was the only one bothered by it.
Anyone had this happen before? Am I just hypersensitive to the memories of that nasty buddy syrup last year?
Thanks for any ideas.
~DK