Tapped my first trees yesterday!!!!

[newmod]

Im new to this whole thing, and got a late start , but, I did tap 18 trees yesterday on a piece of property we are buying (again). (owned this house and 10.5 acres about 10 years ago. came up for sale again so we bought it back. ) Anyhow, I helped out a friend last week boiling sap. What causes the foaming in the pans? We noticed that the foam was starting to burn around the pan. we cooled it down a little with sap from the front pans. Only a temporary fix though. I'm sure I am going to have many more questions.

Newmod

[happy thoughts]

Foaming is just something to expect when boiling. Who knows what causes it. Probably the same things in the sap that cause niter (sugar sand) to form. It helps to keep it skimmed off and/or you can use a defoamer. There are commercial defoamers available. I just use canola oil. You can use any kind of vegetable oil with a bland taste.

I boil on a block arch and two hotel steam pans. A drop or two in my less sweet sap pan helps a lot. This is the pan I use to fill my sweeter pan during boiling so some oil will find it's way to that pan, too. You don't need much at all, just a few drops every now and then to your less sweet pan when you see the foam really starting to build up again.

You'll probably still get a sugar burn around the pan sides but it should be much better if you control the foam. In my short experience, it tends to be the foam that burns on the sides. A few days ago, someone here suggested wiping the first couple of inches from the top of the pans with a lightly oiled paper towel like you might grease a cake pan. I tried that the last couple of boils and it did seem to help with clean up at least. The key here is just to use the barest minimum of oil. I've read that veg oil can go rancid in time and cause off flavors in your syrup which is one reason why commercial defoamers are preferred. I haven't run into that problem yet.

Good luck and sweet dreams at your new old place! :)