sap shelf life

[maplefarmer]

I took some sap off the trees last thursday, still don't have enough to boil, and sap in the tank i collected in has a thin layer of ice on top. I know they say think of sap like milk as far as spoiling goes, so what would shelf life be with almost frozen sap, and will it be darker when boiled even though it's frozen?

[happy thoughts]

That's hard to say. It has a thin layer of ice on it now but has that been the case since last thursday? And a thin layer of ice is not the same as frozen solid. Colder temps help keep down microbial growth but it won't stop it completely. Things grow mold even in a cold refrigerator, at least at my house:). I'd expect your syrup might be darker than if you processed it sooner. Unless you've got slimy looking sap or it smells bad, I'm sure the advice others will give you is to boil it anyway then smell and taste it. At this point there's not much else you can do because I'm sure you don't want to dump what you collected.