Hard Maple Cream?

[markonsite]

Need Help! Tonight was my first try at making Maple Cream. I used one quart of Grade A Medium and boiled to 235 degrees. I immediately cooled it in running ice water to 70 degrees and started stirring by hand. After a short while I noticed it started to change and eventually turned a light tan color, was smooth like cream, and lost it's shine. I stopped mixing and after a couple of minutes it turned hard and tasted like maple fudge.

Did I stir it too long or was it heated too much? Please help!

Thanks,
Mark

[HanginAround]

Wow, this is confusing, because according to local terminology, you made it perfect :D We call maple cream just what you made, it sets hard, so you reheat it and pour it in 1/2 lb, 1lb or different sized leaf molds. They call it "Soft Maple Sugar" in some places. I assume you were trying to make something more spreadable? We would call that maple butter, and I would say you just got a couple degrees too much on it. You can't really stir it too much. Someone else will have to tell you the exact temp, I think +20 or 22, I forget.

I would pour it in tubs or molds and call it good (you can microwave and it'll soften right up so it's pourable), or if you want to "fix" it, add water or more syrup and reheat until you get it back to where you want it. My cousin makes 130lb batches several times a month all year and almost daily in season, so it's not a bad thing :D

Edit: NA Maple Producers manual says +22-24 for spread, +25 if invert sugar is high, and +27 for Maple Candy(fondant) which sounds like what we call cream and what you made. It sounds like you were in the ballpark, but the thermo being a degree out and low atmopheric pressure might be enough to be over.

[markonsite]

Your right on! Heated up a small amount and it turned to cream. Added a small amount of water and it stayed creamy. Thanks for the help!

Mark

[HanginAround]

Glad I could help. I don't really like the idea of adding water, because I think it takes the "pure" out of it, but I know people do do it in a pinch. If you do add water, make sure it gets hot enough to be well sterilized again.

I'll post some pics of stirring cream... maybe tomorrow.

[mapleguy]

Any temperatures used in candy making should be in reference to the boiling point of water on any given day, that is water boils at different temps due to changes in atmospheric pressure changes, some days as much as 2 degrees. So, candy temps are usually boiling point + 20 degrees for butter or spread. Peanut butter consistancy. boiling point +26 degrees for cream, fudge consistancy. Will stay in block form if poued in mold. In both cases after cooking cooling to approx 80 deg F. before stirring will make smaller crystals and smoother product. Stir butter until sheen leaves product (lot of stirring, stir 5 inutes then rest 5 - product will do some self maturing during rest times). Cream will set after a short time so will be need to be reheated to put in molds. First of season syrup will set up faster than later syrup and syrup that has been stored some time (6 months or more ) may need to be cooked a degree or 2 longer.

[802maple]

I make a fair amount of cream for ourselves and fairs ie Addison,Champlain Valley and The Big E and maple guy is correct ,but if for some reason the cream gets hard I find that if you just put it in the freezer over night and then take it out the next day and let it warm to room temperature it will soften on its own, Good luck

[danno]

Just sitting here at midnight waiting for my second batch of cream to cool - 10 degrees outside should help speed up that process:)

Boy, this stuff takes some experience to get just right. Do you always wind up re-heating it after mixing to ease packing? It seems to set up on pretty quick and I can only pack a few jars with a spoon before it hardens. Should I be able to pour it into the bottles from the mixer? I have to spoon mine. After I re-heat, it's more pourable, but as soon as it comes off the heat, hardens again quickly. Does it sound like I'm past spread? I took it off at 236 but did not check boiling point for water.

[nmerritt]

I have been making a lot of maple cream lately and found 1 or 2 degrees makes a huge difference. I also found it hard to judge exact temps with anything but a digital thermometer. I also do a test boil with water to find out what it is boiling at that day. Ranges at my house from 210-213. I then boil my syrup 19-20 degrees over. I personally like that consistency better than a stiffer one similar to peanut butter. Without certain steps, it is easy to be 4 or 5 degrees too high which will give you a fudge/candy product.

[danno]

Couple degrees does make a huge differance. Wound up adding some additional syrup and re-boiling the whole batch. This time I took it to about 22 degrees over boiling on the digital thermo and it set up completely different. Took forever to mix it (wish I had a mixer that mixed slower to bring more air intot he fix. I use my drill press at the slowest speed). I could not get the cream to dull, which is how I've been told it's "ready". Poured off very easy for packaging without it getting overly stiff and bottles are nice and smooth. Much happier with these results.

[Dave Y]

Danno,
Check in the Maple Producers manual it will tell you what you did or did not do correctly. Second edition pages 188,189,and 190. Your RPM's should be 45-68

[nmerritt]

I found my Dewalt cordless drill and paddle mixer attachment used for paint and stuff works awesome. The one I use has 4 or 5 black fins on the bottom. I also found putting a bit of already made cream to the new batch helps speed up the process. May be wrong but seems to work. strongly recommend not using household hand mixer. Killed that in about 30 seconds.

[Maple eye]

I also just finished a batch that set up pretty hard and I was always worried that I would end up wasting the maple cream if I reheated it.

So, if you add more syrup to the hard maple cream, start the heating process over on the stove, and bring it to a lower temperature, it will still set up and you should be ok?

[wiam]

When mine is too stiff I just add a tiny amount of water and mix it in.