Off tasting or buddy syrup

[KReinisch]

I see on here a lot lately that people say that there syrup has a off taste or buddy. I have been doing this for 5 years now and I'm not sure if I can tell. I know the difference between delicate and robust but can someone explain what that taste is just in case I make some syrup like it? Thank You!

[Urban Sugarmaker]

I had my first experience with it this weekend. A friend asked if I could boil a small amount of sap in exchange for firewood. I agreed and he tested the sap on the stove first and said it was ok. Then when we boiled, a good amount of the sap must have been buddy. The syrup did not even taste like maple, and the steam smelled bad. It was sweet and golden, but tasted more like chocolate or tootsie roll with hints of grass/plant matter. Not pleasant at all. I believe this sap was almost fully "buddy" and not just starting to get that way. Trust me, you can't mistake it. If it's just a little buddy it might have an aftertaste or just taste a little off.

[tcross]

I tend to make a little each year before I catch it and shut down. most likely due to the fact I have about 1/2 my bush as sugar maples and the other 1/2 as reds. this year my sap taste fine and was crystal clear. however after making about 2 gals of syrup, it started to taste "different". to me it taste nutty and earthy. also, the steam from boiling smells funky. sort of like a sweaty sock! trust me, you will know if you boil buddy sap!

[K&GMapleProducts]

To me the flavor can be just slightly off (buddy), but it's the after taste that is really noticeable.

[wurmdert]

To me the flavor can be just slightly off (buddy), but it's the after taste that is really noticeable.

I agree.. Hits you like a gob of cobwebbs right in the back of the throat lol lol

[smokeyamber]

So buddy sap doesn't look any different ? I pulled around 30 gallons of stuff yesterday and some trees are either close or could have budded. Should I boil some to test and how far do you go before it becomes noticeable ? I plan to boil anything I get in the next few days as separate batches if possible, but sure would be nice to know before I fire up the evaporator !

[Urban Sugarmaker]

So buddy sap doesn't look any different ? I pulled around 30 gallons of stuff yesterday and some trees are either close or could have budded. Should I boil some to test and how far do you go before it becomes noticeable ? I plan to boil anything I get in the next few days as separate batches if possible, but sure would be nice to know before I fire up the evaporator !

The buddy sap I had was crystal clear. I would check every batch as you said because you really don't know until you boil it. Obviously if the buds are really swelling it's time to give up (in my opinion).

[smokeyamber]

Thanks for the feedback everyone, I will test what i have and see/smell it.:o Biggest challenge for me is seeing the trees that are budding and those that are not. I am on buckets so I can be pretty selective and it seems that many taps are just drying up so those that are left look like the buds are much tighter. I have nothing to lose boiling at this point since it will be a empty pan that I start with. More of a science experiment since I only get to do this once a year ! :lol:

Hope everyone had a great year, mine was a bit below last year's, but it has been fun as always !

[lpakiz]

My experience with test boiling suspect sap is that it doesn't smell bad or taste bad until it's all the way to syrup. Before then, it smells and tastes fine.
I take a quart or little more and boil it to a couple tablespoons. Gotta watch it towards the end if you go too far, it turns to hard candy in your mouth. I never smelled it in the steam. Just my own experience, YMMV.

[abbott]

The syrup I made today smelled slightly off when I was boiling, but certainly not terrible. The taste is mostly fine, but there is a bit of an aftertaste in the throat, a bit tangy. The sap has been quite clear, but it tastes kinda like there is a bit of milk in it. The resulting syrup is Dark Color, but on the light side.

Is this the beginning of buddyness?

I don't feel like I can put it in a jug and label it grade A, but I could sell it for cooking use or maybe make sugar out of it. Either way, I'll be wrapping up the season tomorrow.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Abbott, that sounds very similar to our last batch. We decided to put a grade b sticker on it and will use it ourselves or sell it half price to others as cooking grade.

[lpakiz]

You have the right idea. Never bottle and sell it because "it didn't tast THAT bad". You could alienate a customer for life.

[abbott]

Based on yesterdays boil (the off-flavor was worsening) and finding swelled buds after I quit boiling, I'm now pretty confident that the syrup was getting buddy. I've probably got 20 gallons to figure out what to do with, but its OK if it takes me 2-3 yrs to peddle it.

[KReinisch]

We finished up our last batch and it had that slight off taste that you folks are talking about. Its the first time I have ever experienced that. Now I know... somebody once told me you can make cream, sugar and candy with the B grade because you are boiling most of water off. Is that true.

[wiam]

We finished up our last batch and it had that slight off taste that you folks are talking about. Its the first time I have ever experienced that. Now I know... somebody once told me you can make cream, sugar and candy with the B grade because you are boiling most of water off. Is that true.

I have had very few failed batches of sugar. Darker syrup need s to be cooked to higher temps because of invert sugar levels. Most of my sugar is with B or darker. Candy and cream are tough wig darker grades due to the invert. Some just won't work. If the syrup is truely buddy the flavor will be in the product.

[Revi]

We just keep the super dark stuff for ourselves and use it all year. At the end of the season we bottle quarts and keep them. I bottled a gallon yesterday for the house.