how to preserve sap

[skidiver]

[I] have a question on how to preserve sap if the weather turns warm and I don't have time to boil for 5-7 days.Last year I had to discard some of my sap because it soured.I wonder if I add a small amount of bleach if that would work since the chlorine should evaporate out during the boil.I also wonder if a small dose of metabisulfite which I use in wine making to inhibit spoilage might help.It is a challenge to make maple sirup in middle Tennessee but I have had reasonable results.I gathered 50 gallons of sap this morning.It was 25 degrees with snow flurries and my sap was starting to freeze but I got it just in time.;) skidiver

[jmayerl]

Cook it until it turns to syrup.,,....,all kidding aside DO NOT do anything you just listed. You can keep it cool and your storage as clean as possible but that's it. Trying to keep sap more than a few days is a waste and just dump it.

[DrTimPerkins]

[I] have a question on how to preserve sap if the weather turns warm and I don't have time to boil for 5-7 days.

Think of sap as if it were milk. Would you leave it out for 5-7 days and then consume it? Probably not (unless you like really sour milk).

Any type of additive you might put in to preserve the sap (to essentially slow or kill the spoilage microbes) would be considered adulteration (or contamination) and is thus illegal.

[psparr]

If its just for yourself, try anything.

Have seen some suggestions of freezing milk jugs full of water and putting them in whatever is holding your sap.

I can only get to the trees and boil on the weekends. I set my buckets on the north side of the tree. I also tap early to take advantage of colder temps.

[SevenCreeksSap]

[QUOTE=DrTimPerkins;235801]Think of sap as if it were milk. Would you leave it out for 5-7 days and then consume it? Probably not (unless you like really sour milk).

Is this the process for Maple Cheese? :o

[happy thoughts]

I would definitely not use bleach as I doubt that is an FDA approved food preservative. I bet you'd still taste it in your syrup. Many people are sensitive to sulfites added to wine. I would avoid the use of any preservatives at all even if legal in your state. State regs vary. Although preservatives are illegal for use in VT where DR Tim lives, in other states anything can go. Many states have adopted the federal regs for maple syrup in which approved preservatives are allowed as long as they appear on the label if sold. see http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=168.140

But that said, adding anything to sap is still a bad idea imho. Whatever you put in your sap will end up concentrated 40-50 times or more by the time you get to syrup density. A little bit of preservative added to a little bit of syrup is not the same as a little bit of preservative added to a whole lot of sap.

Instead, I would keep your sap as cold as possible. Let it freeze and keep it in a cold place if possible. You definitely do not want to toss any ice that forms as some of us in colder areas do. Freeze some sap in plastic water bottles and float them in your sap storage containers. Refrigerate or freeze what you can until you can process it. And if you still have to toss some so be it.

[DrTimPerkins]

I would definitely not use bleach as I doubt that is an FDA approved food preservative. I bet you'd still taste it in your syrup. Many people are sensitive to sulfites added to wine. I would avoid the use of any preservatives at all even if legal in your state. State regs vary. Although preservatives are illegal for use in VT where DR Tim lives, in other states anything can go.

You are correct in that you would taste the bleach. However in terms of the "anything goes" part, there is the statement in the CFR that reads,

All ingredients from which the food is fabricated shall be safe and suitable.

That doesn't mean you can do whatever you want. It merely means that you can add the listed substances if they are safe and if they are suitable. This is subject to some interpretation, but it has certain and often quite specific limits. There are relatively few substances that are allowed in most places under the "suitable" portion of that statement. Clause "b" certainly does not mean that you are free to add anything you wish to syrup.

The only preservative I am aware of that has been deemed "suitable" for use in maple is potassium sorbate, which is used to make shelf-stable maple cream. This is allowed in some areas, but not in others.

[happy thoughts]

You are correct in that you would taste the bleach. However in terms of the "anything goes" part, there is the statement in the CFR that reads,

All ingredients from which the food is fabricated shall be safe and suitable.

That doesn't mean you can do whatever you want. It merely means that you can add the listed substances if they are safe and if they are suitable. This is subject to some interpretation, but it has certain and often quite specific limits. There are relatively few substances that are allowed in most places under the "suitable" portion of that statement. Clause "b" certainly does not mean that you are free to add anything you wish to syrup.

Obviously you're right Dr Tim. But to clarify further, my own state has adopted the FDA regs almost verbatim but with the stipulation that the preservative be FDA approved for food.. And to muddy things further, I see VT (which I consider the gold standard bearer of maple regs) allows only the addition of defoamer and filter aid. Yet filter aid would not seem to fit the current FDA regs as it is not a preservative, defoamer, or salt. It's really mind boggling what some states allow if they even have regs on the books. In Wisconsin, syrup doesn't even need to be graded for legal sale.... but if you grade even one bottle you need to grade them all. It's an all or nothing rule. Some regs make little sense.

[Big_Eddy]

Buy a surplus chest freezer and pour sap into food safe pails for storage. Set the chest freezer to minus 2-3 C. Your sap won't spoil and you have the added benefit of a poor man RO by tossing any ice skim off.

[DrTimPerkins]

Some regs make little sense.

I think we can ALL agree with that.

DE is considered a "processing aid" and is allowed because, although it is "added", it comes right back out again without changing the bulk chemistry in any way other than removing niter (which is required).

[maplwrks]

If you can't process it into syrup immediately, I would take it to a local moonshiner and have something useful made of it!!

[bmbmkr]

Buy a surplus chest freezer and pour sap into food safe pails for storage. Set the chest freezer to minus 2-3 C. Your sap won't spoil and you have the added benefit of a poor man RO by tossing any ice skim off.

Maple Jack!!

Are any of you using UV lights? Has there been any research on this? If I can only boil every other day, and collect 30-50 gal of sap a day, will a 20-50 GPH UV water sterilizer on a timer help prevent sap spoilage?

[skidiver]

Thanks for the tips and advice on preserving sap.I will freeze some sap in milk jugs and use them to keep the sap cool.After the frozen sap thaws I can then pour it into my evaporator.Why didn't I think of that?Skidiver

[CampHamp]

Maple Jack!!

Are any of you using UV lights? Has there been any research on this? If I can only boil every other day, and collect 30-50 gal of sap a day, will a 20-50 GPH UV water sterilizer on a timer help prevent sap spoilage?

I use a UV light in-line when I transfer my sap to my head tank. I found a good deal on E-Bay for a 3GPM one with stainless housing and spare light and I pump through it at 2GPM to improve exposure. Circulating the sap sounds like a good idea.

UVM did a study (http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmaple/inlineuvlighttreatment.pdf) on UV treatment back in 1983. Here's an excerpt of their findings:

"Results indicate that the in-line
UV-light treatment reduced
bacteria by 99.4 and 98.5 percent
and yeast by 75.0 and 62.5 percent
in early and mid-season incoming
saps, respectively. Such treatment
also reduced bacteria by 86.2
percent and yeast by only 31.6
percent in late sap. The UV-light
treatment was more effective in
reducing bacteria than yeasts.
Changes in sap biochemistry,
brought about by microorganism
increase mediated by temperature
change, affect syrup grade. T h e
microorganism reduction by UV
light in the incoming late-season
sap resulted in production of syrup
one grade lighter than the syrup
produced from the same untreated
sap."

[MJFlores]

I like the spare freezer idea. You can get a cheapy chest freezer...or even a nicer used one for not too much money. It's not the right time of year now but, burying a few 55 gallon food storage drums in the ground..being under ground they'll stay very cold until the warmest part of summer.

[RC Maple]

The spare freezer idea is a good one if you have the room. I use the milk jugs. I keep my sap stored on the North side of the sugar house and if the temps are going to be too warm I put a couple jugs of ice in there. I have other jugs in the freezer to swap them out with when they have melted some. Last year stayed cold enough I never had to use them but the jugs were in the freezer ready to go in case.

[Sugarmaker]

My recommendation would be to try to boil it within the same day or no more than two days. Can you adjust your schedule to do a little boiling each day or so? Yes cold storage would be the next best option and then freezing to remove water even better.
Regards,
Chris

[Big_Eddy]

The spare freezer idea is a good one if you have the room. I use the milk jugs. I keep my sap stored on the North side of the sugar house and if the temps are going to be too warm I put a couple jugs of ice in there. I have other jugs in the freezer to swap them out with when they have melted some. Last year stayed cold enough I never had to use them but the jugs were in the freezer ready to go in case.

AL sap pails in the freezer work well. Fill half - 3/4 full, freeze, invert and shake. Mega ice cube. Refill with sap and back into the freezer. And we know they are sap-safe.