Filtering; still a novice

[notacarpenter]

This is my 5th year of back-yard sugaring and I thought I finally got the filtering process down pat. I do my heavy boiling outside on a firepit until it reduces to almost syrup, then finish inside on several pans on kitchen stove. I would also filter the near-syrup with pre-filter and orlon filter to clean out any sediment. After finishing on stove, I would take off heat and almost immediately filter through with another set of filters. After that would settle , I would reheat to 180-185 degrees, then can. Syrup was very clear with no niter, thus I thought I figured out the mystery. However, yesterday I canned my last batch only to find it semi-transparent. Thought maybe I ran it through the filter too hot, allowing the niter to still realease. So I let it cool to 140 and ran it through the filter again, and still came up with the cloudiness.

One thing to add though. I took care of some of the further reduction on a turkey fyer type set-up outside to keep some of the steam out of the house. Did this extra step make the near-syrup too hot. Or should I be letting the finished syrup cool even more before filtering. I was told it was okay to run the hot syrup though the filters as long as it was under 185 degree.

[Rangdale]

I am by no means an expert only doing it for a few years now but can say what has worked for me. I finish the near syrup on top of the stove and then filter it immediately after its done so it's right around 219-220 when it goes through the filter. I then put it back in a clean pan and bring it to 185 and then can it. We only made about 6 gallons this year but every drop has been crystal clear. I've had trouble in the past with getting it clear but bought a nice felt like finishing filter at the local hardware store this year and it's worked great.

[PerryW]

I've heard the advice of letting syrup cool to 185 before filtering it but I don't agree. I filter my syrup directly from my evaporator into a flat filter canner and it comes out crystal clear. I open the valve wide open while the syrup is boiling at fill tilt! If you let your syrup cool at all, you will have difficulty getting it pass.

[damaille]

I am fairly new at sugaring myself and after the first year I was dreading the filtering process....as time goes on and with some good advice its no longer the case. I hang my orlon cone filter over my sap pan so the steam can keep it moist and hot. I place one or two moist prefilters in it and filter right off the evaporator. After I finish my syrup on my propane burner I then filter the syrup again. When you filter off the evaporator the syrup is much thinner and passes through the filters much easier and when you filter the finished syrup it passes through the filters again but with much ease as you already filtered mostly everything from it already. As the season goes on and you get to Grade A dark or Grade B I will draw off the evaporator maybe at 217 or 218 with 3 or 4 prefilters in it so it will be thinner and filter the darker grades a little easier. Again here with the darker grades I have to spend a little more time to boil down and finish on my propane burner but well worth it to save on the final filtering issues. If you don't have an enclosed filter/canner then place a couple of towells over and around the filters and pot to help keep the syrup hotter longer and you'll find the filtering is a much more pleasing experience.

[Yellzee]

I filter straight from boiling as well with no issue. You arent stirring the syrup in the filter or scraping the filter to help the syrup thru by any chance?

Filter getting old or being wrung out?

[notacarpenter]

I buy a new set of orlon filters every 2 two years. I don't wring them out, but perhaps they are getting worn.

[PerryW]

I've been using the same flat filters (4 of them) to filter my annual crop of 100+ gallons for at least 8 years.

I think the theory of producing additional nitre above 190 deg f holds true during the heating process. When you are applying heat to a batch of of syrup (using electric or propane), the area of the syrup close to the flame will actally reach much higher than 190 and nitre will form.