sugar sand or what ?

[dadtkm]

Been sugaring for alot of years . Got a few friends and coworkers interested in making syrup . during some of our discussions there have been complaints about sugar sand or whatever it might be called showing up after canning . one person talked to someone upnorth they said we were getting our syurp to hot during canning and this was what was creating the " sugar sand " in the canned syurp . no one that I have given syurp to with stuff in the bottom of the jar has ever complained . it has never been a problem with me either , taste great no matter . but it sure looks better If it is nice and clear . so what do we think , if we get the syurp to hot during the reheating process for canning will that cause the sand and what is a good temp to heat the syurp to for canning . if we are way out if line , what can we do to get rid of the "sand". some years I get it some times not , I prefer the not . any help and information will be greatly appreciated thank you very much ,Tim

[adk1]

Yes it can. I don't know what the temp but I think if you go above say 190 it will precipitate out. I believe 180 degrees for bottling into plastic 190 for glass

[Ausable]

It could be one of two things.------- Sugar Sand or Nitre will appear shortly after the maple syrup settles out or clears on the bottom of the container. As You know - it is waste and like sediment in a wine bottle that you leave behind when you decante to another container. But - I had several jars from a batch I did last year that I thought was clear maple syrup (no nitre) and six months later had stuff in the bottom of the containers. Oh - No - Nitre! Wrong - It was maple sugar. I was slow on canning this batch and it was on the edge of going to maple sugar. My fault - had I paid close attention to my temps. and hydrometer the sugar would not have happened - however - now that I know what I did - I kind of like it. If I had to sell it - I wouldn't - as Customers expect maple syrup to look a certain way. ------Mike----

[harrison6jd]

x2 with the replies. we are like you and dont worry much about some imperfections in the jar. the way i see it, if people do complain about it, they just got their last jar. happy mapling!

[DrTimPerkins]

Canning should be done between 180-190 deg F. Any hotter and you will form niter. Any lower and you may get stuff growing in the syrup. In all areas it is required that maple syrup be clear. Niter in syrup can cause an off-flavor, can cause a gritty sensation in the mouth, may cause intestinal upset issues, and, if your equipment has lead in it, will elevate the syrup lead level.