Filtering question

[Dinorocks]

Thanks for looking! My first two boils only yielded a couple gallons each due to low sap yields and I cut a corner and didn’t filter the syrup through a thick felt/type come filter (it takes a very long time and I end up loosing syrup in the filter and from residual syrup that I cannot get through the filter before the syrup cools...with larger syrup volumes I don’t mind loosing a bit of syrup). I did, however, filter the nearup through multiple paper/polyester pre-filters after boiling in the pan as well as filtering the syrup in the same type of filters before bottling. Both syrup batches were extremely light in color and due to the light color I could get a close look at the bottom of the clear glass jars for sedimentation...nothing accumulated on the bottom after multiple days of being bottled.

Can the nitter start to form after the syrup is bottled (similarly to sugar crystals forming if the finishing boil was too hot). And can the pre-filters remove the nitter?

And a second question if you don’t mind... early on in my backyard syrup making, my finish boil temps well exceeded 219 degrees F and my bottled syrup almost completely crystallized. In subsequent finish boils I remove the syrup from the heat when it reaches 219 degrees F and it sometimes is a tad thinner than I would have hoped for...is there a higher temp that I can target without crystallization (221, etc.). I do understand boiling temps are effected by elevation (my water boils at exactly 212 degrees F per my test). I do have a hydrometer but I do not trust it as the paper card inside may have been bumped. And unclear about the required temp of the sample before testing it. I’ll save my hydrometer question for next time.

Thanks!!!

Dino

[buddy58]

----get-a-new-hydrometor----mark-the-paper-on-top-with-a-black-marker------you-will-knw-if-it-sliped

[berkshires]

I have thought I had nice clear syrup, only to have a little sediment form on the bottom of the glass jar. But if you do get a tiny bit of sediment settling to the bottom, big deal (unless you're planning to sell it).

For your second question, trying to make proper syrup by temperature alone is a fool's errand. Get a hydrometer you trust, and use it.

Cheers,

Gabe

[Gord]

+1 on the hydrometer. The Gold Series hydrometer from Smokey Lake already has the line scored in the glass, so you know the paper hasn't moved just by looking at it.

[Gord]

Also, I posted in the 'Bottling and Filtering and Bulk Storage of Your Syrup' thread regarding the problems I had with filtering. I've tried everything. I thought the same thing as you, regarding losing syrup in the thick felt cone filter, so I never used it. This year I had the same sugar sand issue on my first boil. I dug out the thick felt cone filter for my 2nd and subsequent boils and couldn't be happier. As long as you run your finished syrup through the filter as soon as your hydrometer tells you it's syrup, the amount you lose is very little, and your syrup will be crystal clear. I also run my 'near syrup' through a pre filter as it comes out of my pan. I use a pre filter inside the thick felt cone filter as well. It's worth the small amount that gets absorbed in to the filter.