solving sap suspicions.

[Sugar Bear]

With the warm winter we are having I am certain many of us have looked at some of our sap suspiciously as it can get cloudy quickly.

I was wondering if some of my sap was still good today.

One great way to test sap is to boil off a quart of sap in a pan on the stove.

1) Start with a wide frying pan so you expedite the process.

2) Then transfer to a small pot for more depth of the liquid in the pot. I use a little pot about 3" in diameter for final boil.

I got my answer fairly quickly and a nice little treat for breakfast.

My cloudy sap still made a few spoonful's of great tasting syrup.

I think I will use the next test in my coffee assuming it pasts the test.

[Wanabe1972]

My sap has been good and clear this year but was cloudy almost every run last year. My weather last year was a hard freeze followed by several days above freezing and cycled like that all year. The cloudy sap made a little darker but very good tasting syrup.

[Tapline]

I boiled off 90 gallons of cloudy sap yesterday and it sure made some dark syrup!! But boy was it good tasting!!

[Sugar Bear]

I think I am going to wait until Feb 15 to tap next year rather then Jan 15 even if the weather is the same.

I think there is too much fictional talk of warmer weather cloudy sap making lousy tasting syrup.

Early season syrup reminds me of what my mother of five kids did when she ran out of syrup for pancakes. She would put a bit of water in half a cup of sugar and add some food coloring.

I am not certain I see the purpose of that early season extra light stuff, reminds me of one of my moms old stunts.

[harrison6jd]

for me, if i can tolerate the taste of the sap regardless of its cloudiness, it'll make good syrup. ive experimented too over the years and bad tasting sap make bad syrup. but ideally i want to boil clear sap.

[Russell Lampron]

I've made some great tasting syrup with cloudy and yellowish sap. If it still tastes good boil it.