Boiled syrup a little high...will it crystallize?

[Galena]

Hey all

I was finishing off a batch and was so busy checking for the window that, although I had the candy thermometer right there in the pot, I forgot to make sure that it stayed at 219 (my syrup's boiling point). It was at 225 degrees, for hopefully no more than a minute or two.

The colour, clarity, taste and texture are all great, but wondering if because it boiled a little higher than is ideal, will it eventually crystallize?

[happy thoughts]

I'd say it's likely especially once it's chilled in the fridge. You can thin what you have with fresh boiled sap or concentrate and try again. Or if you like the way it is, bottle it in a wide mouthed jar so you can get to the crystals if they form. A little water and a few seconds in the microwave should help free them.

[maplerookie]

Somebody said on another thread that the crystals are real tasty...so dig them out and enjoy natures sweet candy.

[Galena]

Yep, I've had crystals before and enjoy crunching on them - after all they're pure sugar! But wasn't sure if boiling it over temp for such a short period of time would make it crystallize or not. I don't know if I'll bother re-boiling with more sap or not. Next time I'll just try to boil the nearup down at a lower temp so it stays at 219. Thanks!

[happy thoughts]

wasn't sure if boiling it over temp for such a short period of time would make it crystallize or not.!

Boiling point is directly related to sugar content. To get it to boil at 225*F means your sugar content is very high. Even without a hydrometer you can be pretty sure your syrup is over density. That's not necessarily a bad thing if you enjoy the crystals. Enjoy them if they form and have fun the rest of the season. Hope it turns out to be a good one for you :)

[Galena]

I thought I may as well continue this thread as this new *problem* is related to the OP...I thought that this year I would try to make a few large batches of syrup than several small punky little ones. So being the rocket scientist I am, I made nearup out of two big batches and some of yesterday's collection. So I have approx 7l of nearup. Well I was hoping to be able to boil them down to syrup but I'm already seeing it edge up to 225 and it's just dripping off the ladle like water...argghhh...so have added 1l fresh filtered sap to try and help thin it out but doubt that it's helping, so turned the heat way way way down and letting it reduce at the speed of molasses in January.

Anyone who can come up with a solution (apart from 'add more sap') will win my undying gratitude!!

[happy thoughts]

My gut feeling is something is off with your thermometer. Did you calibrate today's boiling point and test your thermometer's accuracy?

Here's an online calculator to help estimate boiling point. All you need to do is enter your altitude and your current barometric pressure. There are links to help find your pressure if needed.

http://www.thermoworks.com/software/bpcalc.html

Then test it in a pan of water brought to a hard boil to check it's accuracy.

[Cabin]

I thought I may as well continue this thread as this new *problem* is related to the OP...I thought that this year I would try to make a few large batches of syrup than several small punky little ones. So being the rocket scientist I am, I made nearup out of two big batches and some of yesterday's collection. So I have approx 7l of nearup. Well I was hoping to be able to boil them down to syrup but I'm already seeing it edge up to 225 and it's just dripping off the ladle like water...argghhh...so have added 1l fresh filtered sap to try and help thin it out but doubt that it's helping, so turned the heat way way way down and letting it reduce at the speed of molasses in January.

Anyone who can come up with a solution (apart from 'add more sap') will win my undying gratitude!!

Hydrometer! Hot syrup will always be thinner than cold.

[Galena]

Ok let's see...Happy, you mean I need to calibrate my candy thermometer on a daily basis or at least each time I finish syrup?! Really? Have no idea as to altitude but could find barometric pressure from Enviro Can.

And Cabin...was hoping to find a hydrometer at local Home Hardware today but guess what, my local HH doesn't have them. The next closest one might.

Meanwhile been keeping sap warm and around 200 on a very low simmer til I figure things out.

Thanks to you both!

[happy thoughts]

Yes, you need to calibrate each day at the time you're finishing. If you google map your location and look at it's terrain you may be able to estimate your altitude. The elevation is usually marked if you look closely at the concentric rings that signify elevation changes.

If a hydrometer isn't in your future have you tried the sheeting or aproning test? It's not perfect but will get you in the ballpark. Take a large clean spoon and let the hot syrup drip slowly off the side. The spoon should not be hot to start with so don't use one that's been sitting in boiling syrup. As the hot syrup cools, the drips should begin to form a sheet or curtain. Take a look at this site that has some pics of sheeting.

http://www.buildanark.net/index.php?videos/Making%20Maple%20Syrup.html

[Yellzee]

Hey Galena, something doesn't compute here really.

On a given pot of syrup at a certain sugar content.. the boiling temperature is the same no matter how hot the flame under it is. there is no way you should be able to turn down the heat and get it to stop boiling at 225 and go down to boiling at 219. You would have to turn down the heat low enough that it stopped boiling..

same as a pot of water on your stove... it should boil at 100 degrees Celcius until all the water is gone regardless of how hot you have your burner.

So I agree that either your nearup is overup or your thermometer is out of whack... just boil water on the stove and check what the temperature is, add 7 degrees to whatever the water boils at this moment and that is the finish temp for your syrup.

[happy thoughts]

just boil water on the stove and check what the temperature is, add 7 degrees to whatever the water boils at this moment and that is the finish temp for your syrup.

This will work well, too, but just want to add it needs to be re-checked every time you finish syrup. Boiling point changes constantly. The water needs to be at a full rolling boil at the time you take your reading. The important thing is that you know where and how your thermometer reads at the time you're finishing.

Good luck and hope you solve the problem

[donka]

Not sure if this helps you but when finishing I use both a thermometer and hydrometer. If I have my stove on high the temp will spike up to 124 or 125 while my hydrometer still reads unfinished. I think it's because of hot pockets. I've learned that if turn things down say from 10 to 8 on the stovetop when it's getting close I'll have a slow rolling boil and get better readings. Like another poster mentioned the apron method is a good way to tell when it's finished. Good Luck.

[Galena]

Ok, I use the apron method, watch for bubbles and the therm. A hydrotherm is on order now, all hardware stores sold out. Have to agree on the hotspot thing too, I have one of those crappy glass-cooktop stoves. Hate it, but can't afford a gas stove. Have to make do with what I have.

Anyhoo thanks to Happy's advice, I first off boiled some water up and eh wala, it's approximately 213F. Ahh. So that gives me a slightly elevated baseline.

So I added a litre of clean sap to the nearup and took it way down to about 210/212. Then I let it sit and simmer for about 2 hrs at approx 219, towards the end it went up to 220. Made sure I had a decent apron going and took it off and bottled it. It's still cooling, but from what I see it looks like 3l of pretty decent syrup!

Thanks all for advice and hints, just goes to show how much I still don't know about this crazy hobby :-)

[happy thoughts]

If I have my stove on high the temp will spike up to 124 or 125 while my hydrometer still reads unfinished. I think it's because of hot pockets. I've learned that if turn things down say from 10 to 8 on the stovetop when it's getting close I'll have a slow rolling boil and get better readings. Like another poster mentioned the apron method is a good way to tell when it's finished. Good Luck.

I think you're right about the hot pockets. If you have a digital thermometer you can see that just by moving the thermometer around Most pots also have hot spots and don't heat evenly.

I also turn down the heat as I get close for the same reason you do for better readings. The temp may fluctuate so I look for consistent steady readings at the temp I'm shooting for. To do that I usually set my temp alarm to a degree above that target and just watch it. I also like the pot filled with at least a couple of inches of syrup and try to keep the probe submerged about half the depth and away from the pan sides and bottom.

[JTripp]

I try to keep the probe submerged about half the depth and away from the pan sides and bottom.

This is one thing I wounder if people pay attention too, good point, don't let the thermometer touch the pan when taking readings, it will definitely skew the temp reading.