Crystals

[MillerTime]

I'm am new to the maple business. I tapped this spring and got a couple gallons. I poured off into mason jars. After opening a jar I would refrigerate it. After refrigerating it. I've noticed crystals forming in the bottom of the jars. And the longer it sits the more crystals are forming. What am I doing wrong?


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[Thompson's Tree Farm]

You just made your syrup slightly too dense. Are you using a hydrometer to finish?

[MillerTime]

Yes I am


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[sugarsand]

Possible that your hydrometer is off, have it checked. I would rather the syrup a little heavy than light and spoil. The crystals will desolve when heated.

sugarsand

[n8hutch]

It is not the worst thing that can happen. It will not spoil for sure. I'd rather have heavy syrup on my pancakes than stuff that was too thin Any day.

[Urban Sugarmaker]

I had a couple batches that were a little over dense as well. Call me particular but I started rinsing my hydrometer in cold sap before each measurement so it was free of any crystals or syrup. I thought I read somewhere that you should always clean off the hydrometer before each use. That way there's no extra weight on it which could make it float lower and give you an false low density reading. Makes sense to me but I don't know if it really makes a big impact.

[maple flats]

One more point (and I forget this at times and make mine a little too thick too) is how you read the hydrometer. You should read it straight across the flat surface in the test cup, not where it "climbs" up slightly on the hydrometer stem. That being said, too thick is not a bad thing, you are just getting a value added product, "rock candy".

[buckeye gold]

I keep a thermos of hot water or hot sap right on the table beside my finisher. After every reading my hydrometer goes in the thermos and I wipe it off on a regular bases. a slimline thermos works great and keeps the hydrometer hot and easy to clean. The one I have is just the right depth for the top of the hydro to stick up. Of course i change out to clean water/sap after every finishing.

[MapleMark753]

Nice simple idea Buckeye...its one of those things that I go "duh, why didn't I think of that..."
Miller, you can also use a syrup refractometer, on either warm or cool syrup to tell you where you're at as far as density. If I finish right at 66 brix, mine usually goes up just a tad as the bottling goes on. I agree with the more experienced guys above in that syrup that's a bit too thick is better than a bit too thin. take care, Mark

[BreezyHill]

We just bought a new camper and the sales man knocked off $2500 as it was late in the season and he wanted the sale for his end of the month numbers and I asked what he could do if I brought in some Angus Steaks and Maple Syrup. I grabbed a hand full of bottles and after I had set one on his desk I saw a small mound of rock candy growing in the bottom. I said "oops that one has some rock candy growing" He wanted to see it and begged for it to give to his daughter who is a middle school science teacher.
Definitely a value added product.

[RC Maple]

During the season when I bring syrup into the house off of the evaporator I will leave it on the counter overnight and check the density in the morning when I know the syrup is at room temp. most of the time the syrup is on the heavy side when I bring it in and I have to add sap to thin it out. Once I get it so the hydrometer floats just right I will refridgerate it until I have enough to jug up. It is amazing how many times I can pull that same batch out of the fridge and find that the syrup is WAY too dense as there is a ton of sugar in the bottom of the container. I mix it all back together and recheck it adding more sap or water and thereafter it keeps just fine as I never seem to have this problem once it is finished and jugged. I always put the first bit of every batch in glass so I can see how it keeps. The quart jar in the fridge now that I keep filling from my 5 gal bucket in the freezer has just a thin coat of sugar on the bottom of the glass. I figure that is pretty good.

[MillerTime]

Thanks guys! Great advice


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