Sap gone bad? Help!

[Allan Limoges]

The sap in my barrel that I use to collect smells like apples? Can anyone tell me what this means?

[cmstearns]

u tapped a apple tree,lol. i'm not sure

[Allan Limoges]

There was sap left in it from my last boil. It was left in the garage, could it have gone bad? The temperature never rose above 2 or 3 degrees C.

[Maple Ridge]

It could have gone bad. Early in the season I try to make sure I boil everything within a week. As the season goes on every 3 to 4 days. If it was cloudy and smells bad dump it.

[happy thoughts]

What maple ridge said:) But if you don't think apple smell is "bad" then try boiling some of it for at least 10-15 minutes on your kitchen stove to kill off whatever may have grown in there. Cool it and taste it. I would also clean the barrel thoroughly before putting any more sap in it.

You might want to consider freezing some sap-cicles to keep your sap colder if you're storing sap for more than a day or two. Sap should be treated like milk. An open container of milk is probably going to go bad in a week if stored in your garage at the same temps you mention.

[Allan Limoges]

I poured off some of the sap and it doesn't taste bad, but will boil a pot off and see what reducing it does. Thanks for the tips. Hard to clean a 65gal drum with no hose.