Sap hydrometer question

[Jim Foster]

I was under the impression you cooked the syrup down to the bottom line where it read 67 brix while hot. I'm reading online that is the cold reading. ? What gives? I've been cooking down to 67 brix and the syrup seems to be fine. But they show to cook down to 59 brix hot.

Jim

[Andy VT]

I'll take this one since it was just 2 years ago when I was studying up on the same question, so I haven't had to answer it too many times yet.
You are asking about a syrup hydrometer. There is also a such thing as a sap hydrometer which can read from 0 to 8 brix or thereabouts.
What you found online is correct... the bottom red line of 67 brix is the 60 degree F reading.
Maple syrup by definition is maple tree sap that has been boiled down to 66 to 66.9 brix, which by definition is at 60 degrees F.
The upper red line is corrected for 211 degrees F, and is 59 brix.
This line is there because it was found that a syrup sample drawn off a continuous flow evaporator cooled to about 211F by the time a reading could be taken.

I find as I'm fumbling with my small batches in a pot on the stove, by the time I'm done scooping syrup into the test cup, the syrup sample in the cup is more like 185F or 190F, so I have to consult a conversion chart such as the one on page 8-13 of the North American Maple Syrup Producer's Manual, Third Edition (or as I did for the first time yesterday, use a Murphy Cup which is simply a test cup with a thermometer built-in which has the conversion chart built into the dial).

P.S., the Murphy Cup was awesome, and I did test with a thermometer and conversion chart to make sure it was in spec, and it was. However, my standard test cup only needs 4oz of syrup to fill up, and the Murphy cup needs way more. I'm not totally sure the advantage of not having to dip a thermometer into the cup outweighed the extra scooping to fill it up. Probably did, by a nose.

[Jim Foster]

Andy, so what you're saying I probably need to reheat and thin down a bit and bottle at 59 brix at 211 degrees? I'll take a reading of the syrup as it sits in my jars as I unseal them, kinda curious as to what it reads at room temp since I bottled at 67 brix hot.

Thanks! Jim

[Andy VT]

Yep, probably too thick!
But like you say, you can verify by opening one up. Whatever temperature the syrup is, you can convert to the correct brix reading at that temp and know where you are.
Or, avoid the conversion chart by refrigerating it below 60F, put it in the test cup with the hydrometer and take a reading when it comes up to 60F.

[ecolbeck]

If you don't have a Murphy cup, a hydrometer conversion chart is a must have reference. Here are links to several that are available on the internet (here (https://leaderevaporator.com/content/Syrup-Hydrometer.pdf) and here (https://www.rothsugarbush.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Temperature-Correction-Chart-for-Maple-Sap-and-Syrup-Hydrometers.pdf)). When syrup is bottled too dense it typically forms sugar crystals in the container. Did that occur in your case?

[Andy VT]

By the way, there are charts and calculators for correcting thick syrup also. You can calculate exactly how much water or sap to add to make it perfect. At some point Dr Tim posted a link here. On Cornell website I think.

[Jim Foster]

If you don't have a Murphy cup, a hydrometer conversion chart is a must have reference. Here are links to several that are available on the internet (here (https://leaderevaporator.com/content/Syrup-Hydrometer.pdf) and here (https://www.rothsugarbush.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Temperature-Correction-Chart-for-Maple-Sap-and-Syrup-Hydrometers.pdf)). When syrup is bottled too dense it typically forms sugar crystals in the container. Did that occur in your case?

Oh yeh...... Just confirms it was cooked too far. Remedy to be done tonite.

Jim

[eustis22]

Is the remedy to thin it out with sap?

[DrTimPerkins]

Is the remedy to thin it out with sap?

Thin with clean water. If you thin with sap you’ll need to reboil for at least a few minutes to kill any microbes you introduce is the sap.

[eustis22]

Thank you, Dr Tim......I have some distilled water on hand, luckily. Do I do this thinning warm to get it to the right density or can I do it cold?

[Jim Foster]

I dumped all of my previous syrup in a large kettle and added boiling water to the boil and retested the batch to 59 brix and actually got another quart of syrup when finished. Thanks fellas.

Jim