Cloudy syrup

[Brad E. Wildes]

I'm some what new and I'm afraid this might be long. I'm inconsinsant on my syrup. I have a homemade evaporator 22" x36"x8" wood fired stainless steel.I brought my first batch to a rolling boil and brought it down to where I wanted to finish it in a 5 gal stainless steel pot on a gas burner. I finished it to the hydrometer reading of syrup. Filtered it and heated it up to 200 F., and bottled it. saw niter sand in it and then found out that I got it to hot.So I poured it out and reheated it to 180-185F refiltered it,kept it at 180-185F and bottled it. Now it niter free but cloudy. Is it from all the heating and handling it?Can I do something to clear it up ? I want it to look good I give most of what I make as gifts and use the rest.
2nd. batch brought to rolling boil to where I wanted to remove it to my pot. Put it in the pot and on the burner and wasn't watching as close as I should and it foamed up and over. It didn't foam over much and was at the syrup reading on the hydrometer. Filtered it, put it in a pail and set it aside for a day. Meanwhile I ran off another batch on the evaporator and finished it off in the pot at a steady rolling boil. Filtered it added it to the batch (2nd batch)2 days earlier. Next day I warmed all of it to 180-185F bottled it and I've got what I consider perfect syrup. Everything I use to cook it down is stainless steel. The filter is an orlon bag with a paper prefilter and are washed after every filtering. Did letting this one foam over make it clear like it should be.If any one can help I sure need it and maybe we could talk on the phone just E-mail me at bradw_wi@yahoo.com I have other questions but this is keeping me up at nite.











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[WF MASON]

I know people who filter several times , sometimes to get all the sugar sand out. It varys batch to batch , or sap run to sap run, If your syrup is cloudy then it needs to be refiltered. I've always used the cone filters , but customers tell me the flat felt with a paper prefilter cleans much better then a cone.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Sometimes if you don't wash the filters before the first use, they can add substances to the syrup??

[powerdub]

If an orlon bag is a cone filter then Brandon hit it on the head. What they don't tell you when you buy those and the flat felts is that you have to boil them before you use them. They treat those with some kind of wax or chemical so they don't absorb moisture on the shelf and mildew.