Sap a little cloudy... boil?

[DMF]

My sap is slightly cloudy but doesn’t smell and still tastes good. Should I boil it?Sap on one side and water on the other. 19913

[Sugar Bear]

That sap looks like it will make some good dark syrup to me. Boil it, but do it ASAP. Do not let it sit in tomorrow temps and definitely not Wednesdays.

[mol1jb]

If it passes the smell and taste test, should be good. Always best to boil sap as soon as possible, especially in late season.

[Sunnyacres]

Just put a little in a pot on the stove and try it. Dark syrup is still better than none and most of our customers prefer dark.

[Galena]

Boil it and if your house suddenly smells like dead frogs, chuck it. If it smells good keep it.

[PaulRenaud]

When in doubt taste it. You won't get sick from drinking sweetwater straight from the tree.

Bugs in the sap are another matter! :)

[30AcreWoods]

Isn't that the truth! Once you do this a bunch, you can instantly tell from the steam of a small test boil whether or not your sap is bad. I saved a bit once and let a couple of people smell and taste it...their reactions where priceless.

[tpathoulas]

I am so happy to see this thread as I have a problem with my syrup and I wonder if it is related to cloudy sap.
I finished collecting and cooking about 1.5 weeks ago. My last collection I collected about 300+ gallons and had some cloudy, not bad smelling, tasted fine sap. I talked to an experienced syrup friend he said cook it. I did. As I have been bottling this last batch I am having a problem with some particulate matter floating in my bottles and it eventually settles to the bottom. This syrup has been filtered off the evaporator through paper and orlon, filtered again through paper and orlon and cooking little closer to finished. Then, filtered through paper after reaching proper brix. I think some may think it is over-filtered. I have even dumped reheated and filtered a 4th time, but I still have the same problem. I thought it was sugar but I have added sap and re-cooked to have the same problem. When bottling at first it seems clear but as the syrup cools the particulate forms and is suspended in the syrup.
Is this sugar?
Is this bacteria?
If none of the above, what the heck do you think it is?
The syrup has a nice maple flavor. My unrefined taste does not detect any off flavor. And for as much as I have taste tested I'm still feeling good(physically) (emotionally my syrup has me down but that's another story).
Thanks for your help,
Tom

[BCPP]

I am so happy to see this thread as I have a problem with my syrup and I wonder if it is related to cloudy sap.
I finished collecting and cooking about 1.5 weeks ago. My last collection I collected about 300+ gallons and had some cloudy, not bad smelling, tasted fine sap. I talked to an experienced syrup friend he said cook it. I did. As I have been bottling this last batch I am having a problem with some particulate matter floating in my bottles and it eventually settles to the bottom. This syrup has been filtered off the evaporator through paper and orlon, filtered again through paper and orlon and cooking little closer to finished. Then, filtered through paper after reaching proper brix. I think some may think it is over-filtered. I have even dumped reheated and filtered a 4th time, but I still have the same problem. I thought it was sugar but I have added sap and re-cooked to have the same problem. When bottling at first it seems clear but as the syrup cools the particulate forms and is suspended in the syrup.
Is this sugar?
Is this bacteria?
If none of the above, what the heck do you think it is?
The syrup has a nice maple flavor. My unrefined taste does not detect any off flavor. And for as much as I have taste tested I'm still feeling good(physically) (emotionally my syrup has me down but that's another story).
Thanks for your help,
Tom
What is the brix level? From your description it may be too high and you have sugar crystallizing out of solution as it cools. Not likely to be bacteria if it's happening in short time frame, bacteria just dont grow that fast!

[tpathoulas]

Thanks for the reply. I was worried about that and added unfinished syrup to some the cloudy stuff and still had the particulates floating. 67.2 is highest brix I've found. I know this is higher than expected but is it high enough to cause this?

Thanks

[Super Sapper]

If you only used paper on your last filtering that us where your problem is.

[tpathoulas]

Thanks for the input. If my problem is sugar sand not being filtered through orlon. Should I reheat, dilute with distilled water or some almost syrup heat back up to 7 degrees higher than boiling, filter through paper and orlon then bottle?
Would this be my best attempt to clear up? Or since it is at 67.5 brix(tested today)heat to 180 and filter through paper and orlon and bottle?

I appreciate the insight,
Tom

[Big_Eddy]

I am so happy to see this thread as I have a problem with my syrup and I wonder if it is related to cloudy sap.
I finished collecting and cooking about 1.5 weeks ago. My last collection I collected about 300+ gallons and had some cloudy, not bad smelling, tasted fine sap. I talked to an experienced syrup friend he said cook it. I did. As I have been bottling this last batch I am having a problem with some particulate matter floating in my bottles and it eventually settles to the bottom. This syrup has been filtered off the evaporator through paper and orlon, filtered again through paper and orlon and cooking little closer to finished. Then, filtered through paper after reaching proper brix. I think some may think it is over-filtered. I have even dumped reheated and filtered a 4th time, but I still have the same problem. I thought it was sugar but I have added sap and re-cooked to have the same problem. When bottling at first it seems clear but as the syrup cools the particulate forms and is suspended in the syrup.
Is this sugar?
Is this bacteria?
If none of the above, what the heck do you think it is?
The syrup has a nice maple flavor. My unrefined taste does not detect any off flavor. And for as much as I have taste tested I'm still feeling good(physically) (emotionally my syrup has me down but that's another story).
Thanks for your help,
Tom

Classic Niter in the syrup. Looks clear at first, then it precipitates out and gets cloudy. Leave it long enough and it will settle to the bottom.

You need to reheat to just under boiling and filter hot through an orlon and put it directly into your bottles while still above 185. No reheating after filtering. It doesn't matter how many times you have filtered it previously - if you heat it again, more niter will form.

[Sugarmaker]

Tom,
(sorry for derailing this thread even more) Just to clarify what Big Eddie is saying. If you heat clear filtered syrup to near boiling, over 210 F, your probably going to have niter again. So you would need to filter again. But, if you have it filtered and clear and then want to bottle it, just heat it to 180 F, bottle it and the niter won't form at that lower temp. And yes the paper filters will not remove all the niter.
Regards,
Chris

[tpathoulas]

Thanks Guys, I appreciate the input.
Do you think I should heat, dilute, get up to Brix again, filter with paper and orlon, bottle?

[Big_Eddy]

Thanks Guys, I appreciate the input.
Do you think I should heat, dilute, get up to Brix again, filter with paper and orlon, bottle?

No point diluting. It's already at the correct density. Just bring it up to a boil and pour directly into an Orlon filter with 2-3 pre filters inside. Bottle hot.