If you do everything right can you still end up with nitre?

[Swingpure]

If you finish the syrup to the proper Brix range,(66-68.9), filter it well, then bottle it between 185 and 190°, can you still end up with nitre?

Thanks

Gary

[TapTapTap]

You might not have any niter problems with only 50 to 100 taps.

[DRoseum]

You will still get niter. Perhaps your buildup in your pans won't be that bad if you clean them out frequently (every boil or so). However you will absolutely have nitre in your syrup. Its unavoidable and a natural byproduct from the boiling process. That is why you have to filter. And even with the best gravity filtering methods using pre-filters and high quality orlon filters, you will still have a small amount of nitre settle out of the syrup over time. Using diatomaceous earth (filter aide- special maple grade) helps a ton, especially when used in filter presses and vacuum filters.

[TapTapTap]

This is an interesting topic.

I don't doubt that there will be nitre in the syrup. That isn't what I call a nitre problem since syrup should always be filtered which should address any problem, particularly if you are using a filter press.

My point is that I never even noticed nitre when I had only a small pan and less than a 100 taps. On a larger operation you'll have the serious nitre showing up in the syrup pan and I've heard about nitre problems in the flue pan too, particularly in the later season. The nitre can be so extreme that the plates of nitre impede flow through the float box and may be crusted around the end of the flues too. That's when you can have a real problem. I think that this level of problem typically occurs when you upgrade to vacuum and RO which results in a lot more niter minerals passing through the evaporator. Without RO you will need insane hours of boiling to get the nitre nuisance problems in the evaporator. The other problem I always had with a small divided single-pan evaporator was that the extreme boiling times in a single pan would result in very cloudy dark syrup which is why most people finish the syrup in a separate setup.

A good question for our research experts is whether vacuum/RO systems experience more nitre problems because of concentrating higher volumes of lower sugar sap -

Specifically: Are sugars and nitre mineral concentration in raw sap proportional? When your sugar drops off does the nitre stay the same, or maybe even higher? Therefore, when we squeeze the 1% sugar sap in the last boils of the season are the nitre mineral concentrations even higher?

Ken

[berkshires]

If you finish the syrup to the proper Brix range,(66-68.9), filter it well, then bottle it between 185 and 190°, can you still end up with nitre?

Thanks

Gary

I think you're asking about nitre in your bottles? Can you explain what your concern is? Filtering and bottling finished syrup is standard operating procedure and does not result in syrup with significant nitre in the bottle.

Gabe

[berkshires]

That said, the filtering and bottling process is a finicky one, and you may wind up with nitre in some of your bottles until you get the kinks worked out (I certainly did). Making syrup is like cooking, it doesn't always come out the same, and it takes time to develop the skills to get the consistent results you like.

GO

[Wannabe]

And if you do end up with a small amount of niter in your own personal syrup, big whoop. Best thing I've done for a hobbyist is go to the settling method for ridding the syrup of niter.

[TapTapTap]

And if you do end up with a small amount of niter in your own personal syrup, big whoop. Best thing I've done for a hobbyist is go to the settling method for ridding the syrup of niter.

I once had the opinion that unfiltered (or less filtered) meant more robust maple flavor. That changed when I got my first filter press and realized the huge boost in quality. The filter press is the single most important piece of equipment for creating a quality product in my sugar house. A filter press is also used to filter the sweet during mid season pan cleaning and makes an even better and more consistent finished product. There are some small moderate priced filter presses for hobby operations and I recommend one.
Ken

[Swingpure]

A filter press is also used to filter the sweet during mid season pan cleaning and makes an even better and more consistent finished product. There are some small moderate priced filter presses for hobby operations and I recommend one.
Ken

What is the “sweet”?

[TapTapTap]

What is the “sweet”?

Sweet is anything in the evaporator. It's name is to indicate that it's sweeter than the input sap.

[berkshires]

What is the “sweet”?

As you boil you draw off finished syrup. Between boils the"sweet" remains in the pan(s).

[TapTapTap]

As you boil you draw off finished syrup. Between boils the"sweet" remains in the pan(s).

That's a good way to describe sweet.

So with a filter press, you can use to clean the sweet left in your pan. You save the filtered sweet in a container while you clean your pans. Then on the next boil you start with clean sweet. The problem I've had with a small divided pan evaporator without a flue pan was the over cooking of the syrup which is due in part to the sludge and niter buildup that keeps cooking into the syrup.

Another benefit of bigger production setups is the RO process which provides basic prefiltering to remove bark, sand, bugs, and stuff. On an operation without RO, filtering the sweet would be removing this objectional stuff.

Ken

[Swingpure]

That's a good way to describe sweet.

So with a filter press, you can use to clean the sweet left in your pan. You save the filtered sweet in a container while you clean your pans. Then on the next boil you start with clean sweet. The problem I've had with a small divided pan evaporator without a flue pan was the over cooking of the syrup which is due in part to the sludge and niter buildup that keeps cooking into the syrup.

Another benefit of bigger production setups is the RO process which provides basic prefiltering to remove bark, sand, bugs, and stuff. On an operation without RO, filtering the sweet would be removing this objectional stuff.

Ken

So if I remove all of the partially boiled sap from my steam pans into a 8 gallon stainless steel pot and refrigerate it over night, then clean the insides of the steam pans with hot water before I boil again, I should not have any issues?

[ecp]

So if I remove all of the partially boiled sap from my steam pans into a 8 gallon stainless steel pot and refrigerate it over night, then clean the insides of the steam pans with hot water before I boil again, I should not have any issues?

With raw sap on this scale you will probably have no issues if leaving the sweet in the pans between boils maybe a mid season cleaning if it builds up but I doubt that will happen. In the end its really like hitting a moving target because sugar sand and niter are different in each region and each sap run so you just need to keep an eye on it. When you start to RO sap is when you will need to keep an even better eye on it because it gets 10 fold worse with sand and niter.