Jarring maple syrup

[Mudhoney]

We are first year newbies. We have gotten through the processing stage and have jarred our syrup. Some of the jars did not seal. Does anyone have advice for what to do?

[eustis22]

did you heat them? How hot was the syrup when you jarred? did you turn the jar upside down for 30 seconds to seal them?

[Mudhoney]

It was 219 when we jarred them. I did heat them but we also work outside so the last ones we did were cooled down. we did not turn them upside down.

[buck3m]

I would preheat the jars, fill them with 185-190 degree filtered syrup, wipe the rim of the jar to remove syrup, then finger-tighten the lid.

You'll undoubtedly pick up some tips by using the search function on this site. Good luck!

[Mudhoney]

Does anyone have any ideas what to do to seal the unsealed jars?

[spud]

I would reheat the unsealed syrup to 180-190 and then try again with a new lid or cap.

Spud

[Mudhoney]

Thank you for the advice.

[eustis22]

>It was 219 when we jarred them.

Do not jar above 185. It will promote crystalization in the bottom.

[lyford]

I routinely bottle around 190+ and have NEVER had any crystallization in a jar. Been doing it this way for the past 6-7 years. Just my experience.

[BCPP]

Crystalization is typically caused by letting sugar density get too high (above 66 brix) you then have a supersaturated solution and when it cools the sugar can no longer stay dissolved so crystallizes out. Bottling too hot will encourage nitre formation making syrop cloudy but should not affect crystalization (unless you hold it hot too long leading to more evaporation and causing sugar density to rise!).

Your bottles need to seal air tight. Turning them upside down is not for sealing purposes. It puts the hot syrop in contact with top of bottles and underside of lid. As long as syrop is above 180 this will sterilize the entire interior so no microbes can grow. If your bottles leak and / or you did not invert them you take your chances! May be ok if there happened to be no microbes around! Only way to correct is pour it out, clean the bottles, bring the syrop back to 180 and then rebottle.

[Wannabe]

Does anyone have any ideas what to do to seal the unsealed jars?

If there wasn't a lot of jars and you have room in a freezer just put them in there until you need them.

[buck3m]

If there wasn't a lot of jars and you have room in a freezer just put them in there until you need them.

That's a great idea. And properly made maple syrup will not break jars even in subzero temps.

As far as canning temps, 180F is the minimum recommended temperature. I like a little margin to allow for temperature variations, cooler glass, etc. The Maple Syrup Producer's Manual says to not bottle/can over 195 or more sugar sand may develop and color may darken.

We feel canning/bottling at 185-190 gives us a good buffer.

Standard density syrup in Vermont is 66.9 degrees brix, so crystallization should not be a problem until above that point.

[Kjsdime]

What temp do you filter? Or should you filter after it cools then reheat to 180-190 then bottle? I have ended up with sugar sand in all 4 gallons I made this year but last year was not a problem. I feel like I rush to get it filtered and bottled so it will seal and sterilize correctly.

[eustis22]

I filter off the finish stove into a coffee urn and let it cool down to 180-190 range before jarring.

[Kjsdime]

It always seems to be clear after I filter but it forms in the bottle

[tbear]

I think all you can do is reheat that syrup to 185° - 190°, and re-jar it. Sorry, Ted

[buck3m]

What temp do you filter? Or should you filter after it cools then reheat to 180-190 then bottle? I have ended up with sugar sand in all 4 gallons I made this year but last year was not a problem. I feel like I rush to get it filtered and bottled so it will seal and sterilize correctly.

I think syrup can be safely filtered nearly boiling hot, but regardless, it should be filtered very hot and at a temperature ABOVE the canning/jarring temp.

Especially important is not to filter syrup, allow it to cool, and then reheat above 195 or so.

Two different experts have told me that sometimes fine sugar sand will appear in gravity-filtered syrup even if everything was theoretically done right.

[FanshaweGirl]

I boil to finish temp, dump it into the cone filter (7 pre-filters, 1 orlon), which sits on top of a hot coffee percolator. I dunk my jars in hot water, and fill them immediately.

I wash out the filters after each batch. I run hot water through them until they are as white as I can get them.

The first batch came out completely clear. Each batch since then has a slight bit of cloudiness to it, which is settling out. But it's really minor.

My first pre-filter looks like it's full of mud.