Newbie questions on boiling

[claystroup]

This will be my 1st year sugaring and the season will soon start. My question is I want to batch boil on my 2 x 3 with a flat pan in 40 to 50 gallon batchs. I would like to boil that down to about 3 gallons or so then finish on propane. My question is, what is the shelf life of the 3 gallons of concentrate? Do I need to refrigerate it or will it be ok for a week or 2 if stored in a cool place before I finish it?

My other question is should I filter the 3 gallons or so coming off the evaporator before I finish it or after I finish it down to syrup?

Thanks in advance,

Clay Stroup

[John c]

It should be just fine for quite awhile if stored in a cool place out of any sunlight, however your finished product will turn out darker (which I prefer anyway). I suggest filtering it to get as much "crap" out of it as possible because it will only help when it comes time for the final filtering.

[maple flats]

If you have 2% sap, it will take 43 gal to get 1 gal of syrup. At 40-50 gal of sap that is at or just over a gal. worth. Reducing it to 3 gal leaves it at about 20-22% concentrate. As long as it all boiled hard before taking it off the fire, it will keep 2-3 weeks fine if kept covered and colder than 40 degrees. If it gets much warmer it will degrade quickly and could get mold on it.