Buttery Syrup

[old fashioned]

I feel kinda funny posting this. We have made syrup for 36 years. 7 ft flat pan and a 2 ft preheat then finishing pan. I always tell folks the last 45 minutes of the run are the most important and am really careful. It is always a big thing tasting the first batch since it is generally the best. Up till this year there had been 1 time we tasted the first batch and it was like it had butter in it. Don't know how else to describe it. Because of some medical issues I had a guy help me this year. His wife works with a fellow whose family has been making syrup for over 100 yrs. As we were finishing up the first batch I was telling about that 1 buttery time. Taste time came and it tasted like it had butter in it. I mentioned the fellow with all the family experience because he ended up tasting our 3rd batch and the 1st batch. He said the 3rd batch was what they would consider desirable syrup and he was blown away by the 1st batch. Said his family had never produced anything like it. I figure it is a matter of everything lining up perfectly. Syrup was great color and correct viscosity. Can anyone comment? Thanks.

Gary

[Sunday Rock Maple]

Assuming there's no residue in your process that would alter the flavor (for example, when we had copper pans our first batch would have a slight metallic aftertaste) then it could be that the first batch is in the pan longer (you don't have any sweet left over from a prior batch) and has caramelized more.

[old fashioned]

I do everything pretty much the same every time. The syrup is so smooth and sweet. Better than any I have ever tasted. I tastes buttery. I was figuring it was because everything came together.

[maple flats]

You are not the first producer or the only one to have maple syrup taste buttery. Professional taste testers sometimes note a buttery taste. As long as you don't use butter as a defoamer (that was one of the older ways to control foam) the buttery taste is OK. I would not worry about it. There are other numerous tastes associated with pure maple syrup too. You can read about that in The North American Maple Syrup Producer's Manual.

[raptorfan85]

My first batches of the year usually have a buttery/butterscotch flavor to them. Then it fades as the season goes on and turns into the more traditional maple flavor. I always attributed it to the fact that I tap almost all reds. That and maybe the soil conditions. It's kinda like wine, different sugar bushes produce different flavors.

[Galena]

I always get vanilla and marshmallow notes in my first 2-3 batches of syrup from my all-sugar bush. I've had a couple of late-season batches with molasses/brown sugar to them. One mid-season batch a few seasons ago had a delicate floral note that made me think of fresh-cut hay :-)

Don't think I've ever had a buttery note though. Pretty sure it's on the flavour wheel. Just curious, what are your trees? Are they all reds or all sugars? A mix of both or perhaps several different species? One of my peeps here taps reds, silver, Norwegian and Freeman...in fact I think sugars are the only species of maple she doesn't tap.

[MapleCamp]

A few years back I was doing work on capecod and there was a bunch of big norway maples. I had some taps so and it was flowing so I collected about 50 gallons and brought it back to NH. It tasted nothing like maple syrup but was the best butter scotch I ever tasted.

[berkshires]

I tapped a big silver maple in my yard this year, and boiled the sap separately from the sap from my main sugarbush. Syrup tastes like artificial butter popcorn. Like overly-buttery. I don't like it. But hey, tastes differ, maybe someone would love it.

Gabe

[old fashioned]

My trees are all Hard Maples. I have a lot of older - 50 year and older trees. This syrup was super sweet and smooth. I personally prefer a bit more of a maple taste but this really seats good on the tongue.