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View Full Version : Once-frozen sap now thawing--where did the sugar go??



maple marc
03-23-2014, 11:03 PM
My first run of the season back in mid-February froze solid in a 55 gallon drum. I measured it at 2% + before it froze. Now it is finally beginning to thaw--perhaps a fourth is now liquid. I tested it and found that it measures zero sugar! What's going on? Does pure water first melt from frozen sap? Is the sugar still in the ice? Or did some kind of cold-fermentation take place to remove the sugar? The liquid tastes OK, but not sweet. Thanks for any ideas.

Marc

CampHamp
03-23-2014, 11:24 PM
Snow cones are sweetest at the bottom. The sugar dropped during partial thaws and you're recent melt is just the top ice and the sugar is trapped beneath. The world's cheapest RO!

ryebrye
03-24-2014, 01:03 PM
Stir it up really well and measure it again - if it's still 0%, that's great news... you can pump all the 0% out and dump it and you've concentrated the rest up for free.

SmellsLikeSyrupNH
03-24-2014, 01:21 PM
Its certianly on the bottom of your tank! I had the same thing happen to me, it was there, just all down low!