sugar crystals growing in glass bottles or syrup

[markct]

well i made a few quarts or syrup and checked it with my hydrometer and it was on the line and all, tasted great and had a nice color to it. so bottled up a few of the little glass cabin bottles and gave them to some friends.
still had a couple around and noticed that a few what appear to be crystals, are growing on the bottom of the bottles. what did i do wrong, i filtered it and then heated it to 180 to bottle it, but apparently somewhere along the way i did something wrong, will this somehow harm the flavor etc, or just look funny in the cute glass bottles. thanks guys this is my first time so im sure its somethin simple that i goofed up on!

[tuckermtn]

we have done this also...most likely you took the syrup too far...(parker pointed out to me that after we finish our syrup, sometimes it sits in the canner- and continues to evaporate water- resulting in "heavy syrup")...like 69 birx or more...won't harm the syrup, but it means less "syrup" in the jug...and when its in the glass jars it looks like rock candy crystals growing...my daughters suck on it, but I don't think it tastes like much...

tuckermtn

[gmcooper]

If the syrup has been bottled since last spring I wouldn't worry to much. You might have been just a tad over. If it had only been bottled a week and is crystalizing then you are way over. Won't affect the flavor that I have ever heard. Just won't look great if you were selling.

[brookledge]

As tuckermtn said it is likely that your problem was from the syrup continuing to evaporate water off after you last checked it. That will happen. if it is exactly at syrup it will not crystalize.
Keith

[markct]

yea its only been bottled about a week, so is my hydrometer off. or should i stop when its a bit before the line and let the rest evaporate as i bottle it, i was affraid to stop too soon and have it spoil

[softmaple]

are you going by the hot test or the cold test red line?

[markct]

yes i am going by the hot test line, i took it right outa my finishing pan, which is a big pot on a gas turkey frier, filled the hydrometer cup with a ladel and set the hydrometer in there. it says 211 on the hot test line so i imagine it must be pretty close to that coming outa the boiling pot, or is my assumption part of the problem. im usualy only finishing a half gallon or so at a time

[tuckermtn]

Not trying to push any more gizmos that might be needed, but the accu-cup that the mapleguys sell is an awsome rig...has a built in thermometer...

we run some hot syrup into the cup, pre-heating the cup...dump back in and draw again...usually have to let it cool down for a minute or two till the digital thermo says 211, then drop in the hyrodrometer...

markct..if I'm figuring this right, if you getting a hyrometer to float at the red line hot test mark (mine is calibrated at 211 deg) and you are right out of a finisher at say 216-9 deg, then you are beyond syrup since syrup is more viscous at cooler temps (cooler temp, higher floating hydrometer- so if your temp is too high, you need a more concentrated sugar solution to get the hyrdometer to float at the red line)...not sure if that makes sense- perhaps someone else can explain it better than I...

-tuckermtn

[Sugarmaker]

markct,
If it has crystals in two weeks it must be way heavy (boiled to long). You could thin it?
Your hydrometer may be off?
What type of thermometer are you using?

Any way back to the process. Next time as the syrup is getting close to finished use a thermometer ( in .1 deg increments if possible) that has recently been boiled in water and the temp recorded. add 7 deg and you should be darn close.

Also use the old apron method to give a indication of the syrup reaching the correct density as it is getting close.

Chris

[Brent]

When putting the hydrometer in the tube, lower it slowly. If you let it drop it will sink to far and coat the stem above the red line and cause it to sink too low with the added weight. It doesn't take much to make the thickness of the line the error. This can be even worse if you've got a 12 in tube and a 9" hydrometer where it could submerge totally.

The thicker the syrup the thicker the coating and so you cook some more and make it even more over.

[markct]

ok so i guess i better start measuring the temp in the cup, i have a short hydrometer and a 8 inch cup, i made it myself outa stainless tube welded to a plate, i didnt want to spend 25 bucks on something so simple. i didnt realize temp was so exact, so never realy measured it in the cup. the couple time i was finishing the small amounts i had so far i didnt have enough depth to put the thermometer, a digital one from a cooking store, into the pan so was just laddeling it out and using the hydrometer. so now i understand what i have done wrong i think, i will have to measure temp in the hydrometer cup and read when it is at the 211 mark, i also probably overboiled from the heat in the pan since it was only about a quart or so in there. so i guess when doing these small quanities i will have to adjust. when i have more sap in the spring i plan to get it close when i boil in the evenings then finish a few days worth at once so i will have more to work with and the whole process wont happen in such a flash. thanks for all the advice guys

[maplecrest]

to stop that problem, i keep a bucket of hot water next to the canner and evar. i always rinse the hyrometer of of syrup then do final check. always off by a couple brixs as was said before syrup on the stem makes it heavy. will solve your problem. after rinse and heavy add a little water or sap when boiling to right density. you wont be giving syrup away every pound counts

[markct]

so are ya saying that if i go a little too far i can simply mix a small amount of raw sap back in with it? i will have to be more carefull about keeping the hydrometer free of excess syrup i didnt realize it was so exact. so if i stay too far back from the line, will it spoil easily, or do i have to be a good bit under to have that happen? im new to this as you all can tell!

[Sugarmaker]

Markct,
Heavy ( crystals) is always better than being to light. Heavy ( density )syrup will keep well but has much more chance to grow the crystals. Light (density) syrup will not grow the crystals but may grow mold. You pick? Somewhere in between these is the optimum syrup density around 66.5 brix. We all strive towards it. Its is somewhat elusive to some one new, and can be a challenge for us making syrup for 45 years:) Get some basic equipment. calibrate it with other similar equipment. Keep making syrup and have fun learning. You can spend hundreds even thousands of dollars chasing this.


Chris

[RileySugarbush]

Here is what happens after one year if you bottle to heavy!

Excellent photo by Riley Maple Cooperative, Dave. He deemed this one worth breaking a bottle for!

[RileySugarbush]

Can you guys see the photo I've attached on the 3/16 post?

I can click on the thumbnail and see the photo I've posted, but have heard from the original photographer that it did not show for him.

[MaplePancakeMan]

Yeah, i can. Pretty awesome picture. I had 3 bottles from last year turn out like that.


The crystals only grow until the syrup thins itself out right?

[RileySugarbush]

Thanks. I wonder why he couldn't see it?

I assume that as soon as enough sugar precipitated to solid that the syrup reached 66%, the crystal would stop growing.

[mikeb]

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