Cloudy Syrup

[Brad W Wi]

I made up 2 gals of syrup this week end but it's cloudy. My evaporator is Stainless steel, I finished it off in a sitainless steel pot filtered it with a pre filter and orlon bag.Placed it in a s.s. pail over nite. The nexy day I brought it up to temp 185 degs. again in s.s. and bottled it. CLOUDY SYRUP. Should I have bottled it right away? I hope to get any help soon as I'll be away from the computer after noon today for 4 days , I got to go into the hospital .

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Did you wash the filter prior to using it????

[Brad W Wi]

I did wash the filter. The filter was used last year for 10 gals of syrup.

[Dropflue]

Try keeping the bottling temp at 180. Anything over 180 will allow additional nitre to precipitate from the syrup, producing a cloudy product. Hope you feel better after leaving the hospital! :o

Dropflue

[brookledge]

Another thing that can cause clodiness is if you disturb the filter when using, do not try to sqeeze it or use a spoon and scrape it. Also never wring it out when cleaning, the synthetic fibers will tear making thin spots that will allow some sediment through

[Uncleducks]

The last boil I did just yielded some fairly light syrup, but hazy in clarity, not crystal clear like previous runs. At first I thought perhaps it was some niter or sugar sand, but the syrup remains hazy after being canned for a while. Is it a difference in minerals, etc. as a result of being later in the season? The same cone filters and finishing process was used. The flavor seems good! Any thoughts on the cause?

[Run Forest Run!]

Hi Uncleducks. Welcome!

The batch I finished up today is also light and has a real cloudiness to it as opposed to a layer of heavy niter lying on the bottom of the bottle. (Instead of filtering after my syrup has the correct density I like to let it settle out and then decant the clear syrup from the top.) I see cloudy syrup all the time, and it will settle out with time. Maybe not tomorrow, next week or even two weeks from now - but it will eventually all settle to the bottom. Each batch is different, it just adds to the mystery of making maple syrup. ;)

[Waynehere]

Same here. We filter when we pull off the evaporator, then bring it up to temp to check for density before we bottle, filter again and then bottle. The syrup was a light medium, but cloudy. I was wondering if others were seeing the same. Suppose to rain the next few days and warm. Will have to see if the cloudy continues.

[Uncleducks]

Thanks for the response. It sounds like your filtering and bottling procedures are about the same as what I follow;but I have only 20 taps out. I am interested in what may cause this. After filtering twice, my syrup is generally nearly crystal clear.

[Uncleducks]

Thank you for the information. I will have to watch for the niter to settle to the bottom. I would like to know what caused the hazy syrup so I don't make the same mistake again. You are right, this is not an exact science.

[berkshires]

The nexy day I brought it up to temp 185 degs. again in s.s. and bottled it. CLOUDY SYRUP.

How did you bring it up to 185? If you did so on a regular burner, you made more niter. That's what gave you the cloudy syrup. If you're going to allow the syrup to cool and then heat it up again, you must do so very slowly, like in a double-boiler. And I'd also suggest keeping a lid on it to trap any moisture trying to escape.


Should I have bottled it right away?

Probably yes.

Good luck in the hospital, and with future bottling!

Gabe

[Ghs57]

My clearest batches were the first few. This is filtering through 4 pre filters and an orlon filter. After that, the cloudiness persists. Same results as last year. For the most recent batches, I switched up my routine a bit. I am now using pre-filters as I draw off the evaporator. I then plan to only reheat to 185 in my water jacket setup, run through 4 pre-filters and the orlon filter. Reheat to 185 in the water jacket setup, then bottle.

Using pre-filters off the evaporator has removed so much sediment that the rest of the filtering should go much quicker. This is nothing new for many, but the first time I tried it. I think the particulate is so fine it will pass through these filters, but will keep trying anyway until I buy a filter press.