milk in final boil

[pmurph64]

I was told by a old sapper that if you put alittle milk in your final boil
that it will curdle and take a lot of the settlement out. the milk will
curdle and then float to the top then you just take it off with a dip screen.
has anyone heard of this

[KenWP]

They used milk around here at one time and egg whites also. The old timers never had the gizmos we have now. Our Libray here has a book that is so old they say niter is what gives the syrup character.

[cheesegenie]

Yes That was very common. Also acts as a defoamer. I have used it , but
I don't like the idea, rather use a modern fiter fabric.They also used egg whites.

[Farmer Mike]

We make about 10 to 15 gallons of syrup on our farm and we have been using whole milk to clarify for years. It's not perfect, but it worked for grandma and it works for us. Grandma also told us that your syrup is ready when the third drop hangs from your stirring spoon. That little piece of advice is within 1/2 degree of being right on the money every time.

I enjoy continuing the traditions of the old sappers.

[C.Wilcox]

We make about 10 to 15 gallons of syrup on our farm and we have been using whole milk to clarify for years. It's not perfect, but it worked for grandma and it works for us. Grandma also told us that your syrup is ready when the third drop hangs from your stirring spoon. That little piece of advice is within 1/2 degree of being right on the money every time.

I enjoy continuing the traditions of the old sappers.

I've never tried whole milk as a clarifier, but I use the drop from the spoon test to determine when it's done and it never fails. Like you say, it's within a frog's hair of perfect every time. Those old folks were a pretty bright bunch.

[Groves]

ok, come clean with the 3rd drop details. Is this a spoon dipped vertically?

[ackerman75]

Also, what kind of spoon, metal, wood, or plastic ?

[C.Wilcox]

I can't speak for exactly how Farmer Mike does it and I have never really spent that much time analyzing exactly how I do it to be honest, but I typically use a metal tablespoon because I'm finishing the syrup in the house and using it to suck down a good pint or two at the same time in the name of "testing". Dip the spoon in the syrup, pick up a small amount on the spoon, hold it up above the pot a ways (you don't want the hot steam to heat the syrup and trick you into thinking it has a ways to go yet) and tip it so the syrup runs off the side somewhat near the point of the spoon. I honestly don't count the drops, but if a drop, usually the last one, gels on the edge of the spoon and doesn't fall off I turn off the heat. My syrup is still just a bit thin at this point typically, but it's always been a reliable way for me to tell when it was really close.

How do the rest of you guys/gals tell when it's getting close?

[Farmer Mike]

I've used metal, plastic, spatulas, whatever. It seems to be more important that it can run off the object in a stream that slows to drops. That third drop hangs on because of the thickness of the syrup. I like to use a rubber spatula and have the syrup run off the edge. It is easier to see the syrup thicken when it runs off the edge. Kinda like watching a speedometer. You can see it coming up to the perfect thickness.

Have fun.

[sugarin4fun]

Thank you Farmer Mike and C. Wilcox, I thought I was the only one who made syrup that way. I think it’s in the book Backyard Sugarin, you can tell the syrup is ready when it rises up in the pan and aprons off a spoon. The first year I made syrup that is how I did it, since then I have bought thermometers and a hydrometer. Well I have given up on the hydrometer completely and just use the thermometer to see when it’s close to being done and as a double check. My syrup tends to run a little thicker than maybe it should be by using this method but I’m only making 1-3 gal at a time finishing it on the kitchen stove.

[BarrelBoiler]

sugarin4fun, i wrote this in a different thread so for some this maybe a repeat. i check a number of things to see if my syrup is ready 7 degrees above boiling water, taste and texture of cooled syrup,how fast the syrup gets sticky on a BIG metal spoon, and the always exciting fine brown foamy boil thats about to boil over. one year i was waiting and waiting for the 7 degrees above and it just won't get there, turned my back for a second and boiling over we were!! got the pot off the heat and that was some of the best viscosity i ever had so now its foamy boil, cool and foamy boil one more time along with the rest of the clues to finished

my son's hydrometer sats its alittle lite but it tastes good to me and it sstisks to the plate

[3rdgen.maple]

Okay I gotta get in on this one. Grandpa showed me along time ago how to check for syrup with a scoop. The sqaure looking ones all metal that are expensive. You scoop up some syrup when you think it is almost done. Let it cool for a few seconds and pour it back into the pan, Hold the scoop perfectly vetical and when it threads off and holds onto the scoop for 1/2 to 5/8 of an inch draw it off cause she's ready. After many years of doing this I check frequently throughout a boil and I can tell how much longer I gotta boil till I get syrup and when I got syrup. I always check final product at 211* with hydrometer and it is very very close everytime if not on the money. Just a fun oldtimer thing to keep things interesting.

[Fred Henderson]

Okay I gotta get in on this one. Grandpa showed me along time ago how to check for syrup with a scoop. The sqaure looking ones all metal that are expensive. You scoop up some syrup when you think it is almost done. Let it cool for a few seconds and pour it back into the pan, Hold the scoop perfectly vetical and when it threads off and holds onto the scoop for 1/2 to 5/8 of an inch draw it off cause she's ready. After many years of doing this I check frequently throughout a boil and I can tell how much longer I gotta boil till I get syrup and when I got syrup. I always check final product at 211* with hydrometer and it is very very close everytime if not on the money. Just a fun oldtimer thing to keep things interesting.



The scoop method is called aproning off. But like you say it only gets you close.

[KenWP]

I make a lot of jams and jellies in the summer months so useing a scoop or spoon to test for syrup is not new to me either. I did that and then took in the house to finish in the house and it was pretty darn close. If I had real milk instead of store bought I would consider trying milk to clear it also.

[Farmer Mike]

This is great to see that other people like to shelf the modern gadgets and enjoy the bits and pieces of our heritage that we've learned from our families and community. Don't get me wrong, the modern stuff is great and really helps meet the demands of a growing population, but you can't beat the fun of seeing an old spoon you whittled out of a piece of wood while boiling sap work as well as a $200 piece of technology you can buy in a catalog.