buddy sap and when is it too cloudy?

[woodey24]

I dumped out my sap buckets in hopes of one last run over the next couple of days. I have seen talk of buddy sap. I had a couple trees that the sap was red. Is this what buddy sap is? If not what does red sap mean. The sap that I dumped today I almost kept. It was a little cloudy but not too bad. When is it too cloudy or is that a boil and taste test and not a visual?

[Cedar Eater]

I think the red sap means that some kind of algae or mold started growing in it. I have boiled slightly cloudy sap and the syrup came out fine. I wish there was a quick way to turn 1/4 cup of sap into a lick of syrup or nearup to do a quick taste test.

[GeneralStark]

Red sap can also be from rainwater running down the tree into the bucket. You can do a smell test to determine if sap is buddy. Boil a little bit in pan and you will know...smells like dirty socks

[antelope76]

I pour a little sap on my chimney outlet and let it scorch. If it smells like maple I keep boiling it. If it smells like dirty socks I dump it. This is a quick way to test it while in the middle of boiling.

[Galena]

If you start to boil and it smells swampy, like dead vegetation and frogs...chuck it unless you want your syrup to taste like that!!!