Using Unfiltered Syrup for Confections

[SeanD]

I have a few cups of unfiltered syrup that's too little to bother filtering and I'd rather not waste it. I'm thinking of using it for the next time I make lollipops or add it into my next batch of sugar. I figure those are two things I make that go to really high temps and I'm making lots of niter in the syrup anyway. Will the unfiltered syrup have any ill effects on the lollipops or sugar?

[buckeye gold]

next time you filter dip up some of that nitre out of the filter and taste it......I'll bet you don't want it in anything your going to eat.

[johnallin]

How about just letting it sit and settle out. Given time it should be clear as a bell.

[Russell Lampron]

How much are you calling a few cups? If it's a half gallon or so set up a simple cone filter over a stock pot. Four or five pieces of Orlon pre-filter paper will filter out enough of the nitre to make the syrup usable.

[Dennis H.]

If you are talking lets say a quart of maybe even only a pint I would use a mason jar and let it set for a while and let the sugar sand settle out and then either carefully pouring the good syrup off.
I would only then use it for sugar or maybe for coating nuts.

But I would try and remove as much as possible.

[maple flats]

A while back there was a post (I think it may have been by Dr Tim) listing some of the components in niter. Some were best not in what anyone eats.

[Dennis H.]

So niter/sugar sand has stuff in it that we should not eat but the components that are used to produce niter/sugar sand are in maple sap naturally???

It would be interesting to see and read that article.

[maple flats]

Some of what ends up in niter is what gets into that sap after it leaves the tree, that is what I'm referring to. As long as a tree is healthy the sap is not the source. In my search I find a reference where Drs Timothy Perkins and Abby van den Berg. I'm not sure where it takes you
Timothy D. Perkins and Abby K. van den Berg, Chapter 4 Maple Syrup—Production, Composition, Chemistry, and Sensory Characteristics, , 10.1016/S1043-4526(08)00604-9, (101-143), (2009).
Crossref.
Maybe Dr Tim will chime in on this. I just recall it was not suggested you eat it. If I'm wrong Dr. Tim will correct me.

[SeanD]

Thanks for the input. It really is between 2-3 cups - not enough to truly filter, but enough to make a few batches of lollipops or something else. It's not sludge, just hazy. It was filtered off the evaporator, but is the result of a bottling mishap. Decanting it in a jar is easy enough and that's what I'll do.

It crossed my mind to see if it can be used for lollipops or sugar because both of those go to super high temps. The lollipops go to 295 deg., so I was thinking that I'm already creating niter in that syrup when I bring it up that high. Then it got me thinking about when I throw broken pieces of candy into the next batch. That syrup got cooked way past 190 the first time.

Anyway, just the stuff you think about when you are standing at the stove.

[Dennis H.]

Maple Flats I understand what you are talking about now. Your talking about The stuff that leaches out of anything that may come in contact with the sap or while it is being boiled.

[maple flats]

If you are talking about just 2-3 cups of syrup that are cloudy after filtering, I think that should be OK to use, but that's just my opinion.

[Helicopter Seeds]

I use the rinse-off from my pans and equipment, filtered while thin, re-boil it, and make good maple coated nuts. Last batch, I needed more, so I cooked up syrup from two bottles that had been filter pressed. I noticed that the cook time was much less, since the frothing at temperature was less. I am thinking it is similar to the foam in the evaporator- worse if you have more niter, good to skim it off. Any way, the nuts are good regardless. For candy, it may affect color if there is a lot.

I normally refuse to use defoamer- but next batch of nuts, I may add a few drops of good oil.

[DrTimPerkins]

Maple sugar sand/niter/scale is primarily malic acid (same compound that produces the "tartness" in apples), other organic acids, and mineral/metal salts. For the most part it isn't a problem, but there are three factors to consider.

1. If you have any lead soldered/older (pre-1997) galvanized equipment, lead is concentrated in sugar sand.
2. Sugar sand is largely indigestible, so it doesn't take much to cause stomach upset and diarrhea.
3. It often doesn't taste particularly good, and can impart syrup (or other products) with an off-flavor.

If you want more info on the chemical make-up, see http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc/scale.pdf