Storing sap

[justainmurphy]

Newbie here, collecting sap for the first time. I've read that you should only store sap in your refrigerator for about a week. Can anybody confirm or deny? I started collecting late last week and have about 2 gallons. Was hoping to boil all my sap down at the same time, so ideally I'd like to store my sap for three weeks or so I guess? Can it keep in the refrigerator that long? Should I freeze it? Should I boil it down soon to make a batch of syrup and then make another batch later in early spring? Thoughts or suggestions?

[Big_Eddy]

Like milk. A few days at fridge temps. Beyond that, freeze it.

[justainmurphy]

Okay, and I'll be able to freeze it and use it all at the same time once the sap stops flowing?

[wnybassman]

I'd boil as you go and then refrigerate the "near syrup" because that will be sterilized and will keep better, then finish it all at once. I think you'll be surprised how slowly it boils if you have not done that yet.

[justainmurphy]

So boil what I collect every couple days? If I do it that way, boiling it down...how far do I need to boil it to where it will keep in the refrigerator until I get to where I'm ready to make syrup? I.e. If I have a gallon, I should boil that down to ____ oz and that will keep ______ days/weeks/months. Thanks for your help/advice

[TerryEspo]

Hard to answer your question. But....

If I had a gallon or two per day and wanted to boil it all at once for syrup, I would do this.

First, keep in mind 40:1 roughly is what your dealing with, and its temperament is milk.

Tedious, but boil your 1-2 gallons every few days till it is much less that what you started with,,,,,,40-1 keep in mind.

Freeze what is left over after every boil.

Keeping the 40:1 ratio in mind, you will know if you need to re-boil what is frozen. No need to keep freezing 15 gallons of near syrup if you only collected 100 gallons of sap.

Hope that helps.

Terry

[happy thoughts]

What are you using to boil on and in? And how often could you boil if you had to? Knowing how much sap you're going to be able to handle at one time may help us give you better answers.

Fresh sap won't keep in the fridge for 3 weeks. Even a week is stretching it. Freezing it is best and you can boil sap to decrease its volume, freeze it at any concentration, and then mix all your frozen batches together later for a final boil into syrup.

[Big_Eddy]

Newbie here, collecting sap for the first time. ....
I started collecting late last week and have about 2 gallons. Was hoping to boil all my sap down at the same time, so ideally I'd like to store my sap for three weeks or so I guess?
...

Justain

You need to put your question into context.

How many trees are you tapping?
What are you planning to boil on?


2 gallons of sap is not much - it will boil down to 6oz of syrup. Even the smallest pot on your stove cannot take 6oz to syrup.
You would typically expect to have boiled off about 10 gallons of sap before you get to the point where you are finishing off a batch of syrup, even boiling on a very small scale.

However, as pointed out by others, you can partially boil your sap prior to freezing, and that reduces the volume you have to store.

Tell us more about your boiling plans, and we'll give you more specific advice.

[Sugarmaker]

Boil it the day you gather it and have fun as you go. 2 gallons is not much sap. boil it down till you have a quart remaining. let it set till the next run add sap and boil it down again. 5 runs and you should have a quart of finished syrup.
Regards,
Chris

[esetter]

Yea , its tough to store sap long down here unless its in a fridge , even then the space is limited. I try to do 10 gallons at a time or less if the flow is slow and I've had it stored a while. I boil mine down to concentrate then can (mason jars) it hot so it seals. Then I try to do big finish boils. Big for me is a few quarts! I will confirm this , the older the sap is the darker it will be when boiled down if not frozen when clear.

[Savage3OO6]

What type of container should I freeze "almost syrup" in? I'm afraid to use glass, because I don't want it to crack in the freezer.

[SmellsLikeSyrupNH]

How about a gallon ziplock?

[Savage3OO6]

Genius! Thanks!

[Chickenman]

If you freeze it as you collect it, once it is partly frozen, drain off the liquid .BUT KEEP THE LIQUID. Toss the ice. Poor mans RO. You just concentrated your sap and have not even boiled it yet.Do this with each collection and wait until you have enough of the concentrate to boil off. Most of all have fun.

[jrm]

I am small time, too, and batch boil. For me, the effort involved to boil down 1-2 gals at a time, using an evaporator, doesn't make it feasible. My first year, I boiled everything at once... we had a lot of snow that year, so I stored in food grade 5 gal buckets in a snow bank. I did keep an eye on those containers, to ensure safe temps. Subsequent years, I've still batch boiled, but typically with 20 gals at a time -- less time involved on the day of boil, but not extra days of concern waiting for my fire to die down outside.

In some of my years, I have needed to freeze inside, and I have chosen to use food safe rubbermade storage containers. The shallower version I have holds 1.5 gal, the deeper 2.5. They fit well in my freezer, are easy to deal handle. I got mine as a 3 piece set at Costco, and I know there are places to get them cheaper than this link. I just included it to show what I meant. I have a friend who freezer in milk jugs.
(https://www.amazon.com/Rubbermaid-7J76-687965439399-Plastic-Container/dp/B016QQ2JUK/ref=sr_1_19?crid=2A0AVAIQIE6LN&keywords=rubbermaid+easy+find+storage+containers&qid=1551111193&s=gateway&sprefix=rubbermaid+easy+fin%2Caps%2C153&sr=8-19)

One word of "warning" if you freeze, take into account defrost time (just like a turkey!) so that when you are ready to boil, you are not putting frozen blocks into your evaporator, but also, if you have them in a container, to be sure you can get the sap out.

[Marj]

FYI I used gallon size freezer Ziplock bags last year to freeze sap and even though I double bagged them most of the bags leaked while thawing. I had placed the frozen bags in large bowls to thaw so fortunately I didn't have sap everywhere. I would not use bags again. I like the low Rubbermaid contains mentioned above... not too tall so they would fit easily in most freezers.
How about a gallon ziplock?