Dark syrup

[1hardmaple]

Hey all, just made some of the best tasting syrup I made this year, funny part is that sap was a bit cloudy and cooked down a bit smelly but in the end it tastes great so question is how will I know when it's time to call it quits for the year? I know it's a b grade syrup but what is the difference between b grade and commercial grade that I see others talking about? Thanks for any input!!!

[jrgagne99]

My understanding is that in New Hampshire, barring off-flavors, anything that doesn't make grade A-Dark is considered Grade B. But if it has an off-flavor, it is commercial grade, regardless of its color.

[PerryW]

Just keep boiling the sap up promptly keeping the batches from intermingling. When it starts tasting funny, just call it cooking syrup.

[Lukie]

my last boil was dark as i have ever made and it never really smelled like syrup but it traste great i am not sure if its because it is late in the season in maine ? all the syrup i have ever boiled has had a good smell except this time and the foam was really dirty but like i said it taste great and i am sure its grade b

[Hobbiest]

Nice site by the way, glad I found it!

This is the first year i actually tap my trees (red maple) and made maple syrup.

Turned out really good, when I tapped another part of the bush (400 feet away) my syrup turned dark (same soil, same trees) so now I boil with my part of the bush (light syrup) and then boil the other part (dark syrup). You cannot taste the difference.

I know cloudy sap is older and will tend to make darker syrup... I know this one has more of a stronger maple taste (also need more sap to make syrup).

Just wondering what could cause this?

Thanks

[ShLUbY]

ok fellow sugarers... what would you rate this batch at? just looking for some insight as how to grade my syrup... it tastes amazing!!

[PerryW]

Looks like Grade A Dark Amber to me.

[sugarman3]

Looks dk,not ofton you see avatar with those wonderful morel mushrooms ,hopingfor a wetter spring than last year as i found just enough for 1 meal
vern

[maple flats]

In bottles that large it is hard to say. They syrup looks darker as you look thru a larger bottle. That is why test bottles are all small and uniform size/thickness. That dark amber looking syrup might even be medium amber in a test bottle.

[Hobbiest]

Here is my batch,

of course you notice the difference in grades.... light is around my house and the dark one is from my neighbour only 1,000 feet away

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q67/a_ken_auger/IMG_0788.jpg

Both taste great, and all are red maples...

Next year I will be tapping all the maples around the farm house. all sugar maples I should have 50 to 80 taps alone.

[Trevor5]

Hobbiest, my batches look very similar to yours, I actually had 3 batches but ended up combining batch 1 and 2 because batch 1 was a little too thin. My third batch made a gallon of syrup, and was boiled much longer (over days) when I had the time. I am not sure if that is why it became so dark or if it was nearing the end of the season the last batch was finished on 4/2/13 but was started boiling on 3/26/13. Some of that sap had also been stored for almost two weeks (frozen solid as temperatures were well below freezing for a week and no new sap runs occurred for about a week). My last thought was that maybe I was burning some of the niter having been cooking it for so long. All in all the syrup tastes fine and is a lot lighter when poured than what it looks in the jar, I found the lighter batch to have a much better flavor but the dark will not go to waste by any means.


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[ShLUbY]

thanks for the comments and pictures. From what I've read the color of the final syrup product has to do with the bacteria activity going on in the sap. Bacteria naturally occurring in the tree sap feeds off of the sugar that comes with it (sucrose I believe) When the bacteria feeds on the sucrose, it splits it into glucose and fructose. The more sucrose you have in the sap means the less bacteria and the lighter the final product will be as it has not split the sugars yet. When the sugar splitting occurs, the glucose and fructose caramelize more during the cooking process which leads to a darker amber final product

So as we all know bacteria multiplies very slowly in very cold temperatures, which would mean less bacteria in the sap, which would result in a lighter syrup. As the temps warm up later in the season, the bacteria multiplies and feeds on the sugars splitting them, which leads to the darker color syrup. This process is known as the Maillard reaction. (according to a syrup site)

I would have to agree with this because the sugar maples I tapped this year (my first year) produced a nice light amber color early in the season when the temps were cold, and i could store my sap in banks of snow to keep them super cold. As the season progressed with those same trees, the syrup got much darker as the temps started to rise and i no longer had that real cold place to store my sap, which i believe led to more bacteria action splitting those sucrose sugars.

[Asthepotthickens]

Here is my batch,

of course you notice the difference in grades.... light is around my house and the dark one is from my neighbour only 1,000 feet away

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q67/a_ken_auger/IMG_0788.jpg

Both taste great, and all are red maples...

Next year I will be tapping all the maples around the farm house. all sugar maples I should have 50 to 80 taps alone.

The closer you get to Cornwall the darker the syrup :evil:

[ShLUbY]

Looks dk,not ofton you see avatar with those wonderful morel mushrooms ,hopingfor a wetter spring than last year as i found just enough for 1 meal
vern

this year will be a great year i believe. we had good cold long winter... average to above average snowfall... and now we're getting inches of rain. BRING ON THE SHROOMS!!!!!!!

[Mike Swally]

So my first time making syrup this year. I have five maple trees and the syrup I made so far was a golden color and a lighter maple favor. I have more sap to boil soon and my trees are still producing sap. It snowed today we're expecting more snow over the next few days. My question is if I want a darker more maple flavor syrup, should I not be putting my 5 gallon buckets of sap in the snow bank. Is there a way to help the bacteria produce the other sugars without spoiling the sap?

[ShLUbY]

So my first time making syrup this year. I have five maple trees and the syrup I made so far was a golden color and a lighter maple favor. I have more sap to boil soon and my trees are still producing sap. It snowed today we're expecting more snow over the next few days. My question is if I want a darker more maple flavor syrup, should I not be putting my 5 gallon buckets of sap in the snow bank. Is there a way to help the bacteria produce the other sugars without spoiling the sap?

just let the buckets sit longer before boiling the sap down. the longer you wait, the more the bacteria will work and multiply, and the darker your final product will be. that's what i've heard...

[Hobbiest]

The closer you get to Cornwall the darker the syrup :evil:[/QUOTE]

Actually Glengarry has lighter syrup,

the sap was fresh from overnight and I boiled both at the same time.

It was running pretty strong here last weekend so I was boiling everyday. Sap was nice and clear for both boils.

I just find it funny why his sap gives me darker syrup, it's been like that since the begining, that is why I boil seperately...

Next year I will have a nice set up in my backyard, small little evaporator 2x4 with flues and a nice finish shed to go with it.