Over a week old and mold

[Snowmad]

I haven't boiled since 3/11. Due to predicted cold weather, I drained out my syrup pan into a stainless steel milk can and drained my back pan into plastic barrels since I couldn't stand the thought of leaving it all in the evaporator in such cold weather and I wanted to clean my syrup pan. Tonight I put the evaporator back together in anticipation of the next run and I checked my liquids. The sap that had been in the sap pan was partly frozen, smell good, and had a sweet taste. The liquid from the syrup pan had a slight layer of mold on top and didn't smell very good. I put my finger in it and it was stringy. Has this gone "bad", or is it just the way it is? I'm guessing I shouldn't use this but I'm wondering where I went wrong? I drew off syrup before I shut down so the syrup pan had a lot of sap from the back pan in it. Any insight would be appreciated because I don't want to make the same mistake again. I probably have around 6-8 gallons or so from that pan and another 20 from the back sap pan.

[michiganphil]

my guess is that is has something to do with whatever you stored it in, or where you stored it. A week of near freezing temps after it had been boiled, it should have been fine.

If it tastes bad, AND smells bad, AND has mold on it...I think you know what you have to do with it.

[Clinkis]

Are you sure it's mold? If it's been boiled it shouldn't have gone bad that quickly. Taste it and see. If it still taste ok probably fine. You could try boiling a bit and see what happens before you mix it in with good stuff.

[Sugarmaker]

Sounds like ropey syrup to me. I had to dump a bunch at the end of the season.
Regards,
Chris

[farmrelated]

We have the same trouble in our flue pan because our building is insulated. You can't filter ropey syrup. Try to save what you can and throw the rest away.

[Snowmad]

It stunk to high heaven and was slimey as snot so I dumped it all out. Just glad it wasn't in the evaporator so I didn't need to do a full tear down and wash. Stored it in stainless milk can and plastic jugs.

I've heard that term "ropey" before. What exactly dose that mean?