Off flavored syrup

[All Maple]

Hi I got some sugar sand looking stuff in my bottled syrup from last year and some of it has a weird off taste... I tasted most of it while I was boiling and I thought it tasted great then! Have a 2 x 5.5 evaporator that I built with some used stainless . Don't know if it could be the way I boiled or something in the medal?.. Any help would be great so I know something different to try this year!

[SeanD]

Try to describe the off-flavor. Chocolatey, vinegar, cardboard? Different flavor profiles point to the source of the various problems.

Sean

[DrTimPerkins]

Hi I got some sugar sand looking stuff in my bottled syrup from last year and some of it has a weird off taste!

Two questions.....

1. How did you filter and hotpack the syrup?
2. What was the syrup stored in?

[All Maple]

Kind of a burnt flavor which doesn't make sense cause I watched it real close and I don't think I burned any. The taste is in several different boilings. Filtered and sealed in mason jars.

[Russell Lampron]

Does everyone taste the off flavor or could it have been something that you ate prior to tasting that is making you think it is the syrup? I tasted some that I had just made shortly after drinking a root beer. I thought there was something wrong with the syrup but others said it was fine. The next time that I tasted that batch of syrup was with a cleansed palate and the others were right. It tasted great.

[SeanD]

Typically burnt flavors come from burning the syrup or from niter. So, it sounds like your original hunch is right. Even if the niter settles down to the bottom, it can impart its flavor on the syrup. I don't think it's your pan, just the way you filtered.

I agree with Russ, though. Always get the second opinion.

Sean

[All Maple]

Me and my brother have tasted it and both noticed it. The bad taste is definitely there. I cleaned niter out of my pan half way through the season but it wasn't to bad. I used the big thick white filter for the syrup with one thin one inside that one.

[DrTimPerkins]

I cleaned niter out of my pan half way through the season but it wasn't to bad. I used the big thick white filter for the syrup with one thin
one inside that one.

How hot was the syrup when you packed it? How much niter was in the bottom of each jar?

[hkmadigan]

I've twice run into a metal taste in my finished, filtered, not bottled syrup. Both times tossed out a couple gallons of syrup and started over...no probs then. Pan is stainless, cleaned and rinsed, wood fired. I use a Leader small, stainless caner filter unit. No one around me knows what is wrong. Any ideas?

[tbear]

Hi everyone,
All Maple, You mention that the off taste is in several different batches, I'm wondering if you did anything differently from batch to batch? Change or use any different equipment? Specifically, did you use anything made of plastic after the sap was heated? I made that mistake several times before I found this forum. Even TUPPERWARE (which is made for food!) will give the hot syrup a burnt plastic flavor. Have you tasted other jars from the same "off" batches and if so was it the entire batch(s) or individual jars from the same batch(s) that tasted off? I'm not sure of your experience level and certainly do not want to insult your intelligence but let me tell you about my experience last year. I had what I thought was an off flavor in a few batches of syrup, I even pulled the plug early because I couldn't get to the bottom of it. With the assistance of a kind individual from this forum I learned that the only real difference between my batches was the grade of syrup! Some was Medium Amber and some was Dark Amber. Apparently I prefer the Medium over the Dark. I'm fairly sure this isn't your problem but... Also how did you clean your filter? It's probably as others have said "the sugar sand", I'm throwing out these ideas and questions because I know how frustrating an off flavor can be. Good luck. Ted

[All Maple]

This is definitely an off flavor. I've been helping out with maple syrup at my grandpas for 15 years and done some boiling a couple different years before I decided to build my own set up last year. I just really enjoy making syrup! I put all the syrup in one pot each night I boiled which ran from 3 gallon to 6 gallon and then heated it back up within a couple days to bottle it. Heated to 180 and put in clean mason jars thru a cheese cloth. I just used a turkey fryer to heat it up. I would lift the pot off the fryer and pour thru a plastic funnel into jars. Sometimes when I tipped the stainless pot a little tiny bit would burn on the side before I poured it in.... At the time didn't think it would matter but maybe?...

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

do you rinse your filters with just hot water or use other things?
I prefer the felt filters over the man made fiber filters but some not caring felt any more.

[Sugarmaker]

We are trying to help with something that is real hard to do in/through this forum. You mentioned niter in the bottom? If your filtering using normal practices there should not be any noticeable niter in the jars. You have made syrup for a number of years and sounds like you know how to make syrup to the correct density. Your reheating temp is right on.
Just a long shot here, have you heard of metabolic taste in syrup? This off flavored syrup can be at the beginning or the end of the season. We have made both. Metabolic is more like mild to very nasty tasting burnt cardboard. My suggestions is set this off flavor syrup aside and mark it until you can have it identified.
Here is what to do this year. Taste every batch off the evaporator prior to filtering, check again after filtering and check again as bottling. This will allow you to see where the problem might be in the process. Also smell the steam as boiling, if the steam smells good chances are the syrup will also. If the steam is off the syrup may be too.
I have been making syrup for 50 years and still learning new something each year:)
Regards,
Chris

[lpakiz]

All maple,
Did you by chance, clean up tanks or evap,or other equipment with some type of soap or disinfectant? I had intermittent problems and traced it to a sanitizer I was using. Sometimes several days/batches went by without cleaning with these chemicals. Now, no more soap or sanitizer. Wash with sap, rinse with sap in the woods. At the boiling shed, wash with water, rinse with water. No chemicals anymore. No more off tastes. Hope you find the problem.

[All Maple]

Well thanks a lot for all the help! I have some things to try now!

[lpakiz]

All maple,
Where in Wis are you?

[tbear]

Hi Everyone,
Swallowing back my fear of "flogging a dead horse" I'm going to push on a little bit more. So, here's what happened to me. I was having a periodic problem with a burnt flavor, so decided to try to find where in the process the problem occurred. I boiled all day then let the evap cool down over night. Early the next morning I tasted the near syrup (it was great!) and emptied the near syrup from my pan into a ss pot which I brought into the house for finishing off. The near syrup was put into a ss buffet pan on the stove and boiled for a few more hours. I tasted the syrup after reaching the correct density (it was still great!) and immediately poured the syrup through a cone felt filter with 1 (orlon?) prefilter inside. I tasted the syrup coming through the filter and it was still excellent. Here's where the problem came in; I was filtering into a TUPPERWARE bowl! The filtering process only took a few minutes, but that was enough! The entire batch had a burnt flavor. It was at this point that I remembered that I only used that bowl for the larger batches, hence, the periodic off taste. I keep a notebook during syrup season, when I tap, when I boil, how much sap,etc. in the back of my notebook I have a few pages I call "things I learned this year". These are helpful things for me to remember such as, if the sap tastes sour it is!, try not to boil on windy days (I boil outside), and in big bold letters I've written "after the sap hits the pan NO PLASTIC EVER!" You mentioned using a plastic funnel...just sayin. Does all of your jars have niter in the bottom? If so you might consider a thick felt filter. They come in cone shape and flat (that I'm aware of) and should eliminate the niter problem. Again, good luck. Ted

[hkmadigan]

I've twice run into a metal taste in my finished, filtered, not bottled syrup. Both times tossed out a couple gallons of syrup and started over...no probs then. Pan is stainless, cleaned and rinsed, wood fired. I use a Leader small, stainless caner filter unit. No one around me knows what is wrong. Any ideas?

Thanks for all your help...brothers.