Too much tasting ???

[Brent]

This is a bit convoluted but here goes.

For the last 2 seasons we've increased our production significantly and since my wife doesn't like syrup, I get to do all the taste testing. For the 6 months leading up to the maple season I've had great energy levels, and then as we get into boiling and tasting, my energy levels really dropped off and have been slow to recover.
So I was thinking about this and then realized the same thing happened last year ... 3 weeks into boiling and I could hardly get myself going in the morning. Co-incidence ???

Well now I don't think so. About 8 years back my doc was doing the normal blood work and called me back in for another test, called an A1C I think. It confirmed her suspicion that I was 'pre-diabetic'. Get more exercise and get the high glycemic index stuff out of my diet. It was pretty easy for me and worked like a charm. Subsequent tests, including personal blood glucose tests with the instrument you get at the drug store showed it was all under control in a month or so.

So now, years later, it looks like I'm right back where I was 8 years ago. Now it's June, more than a few days from the end of the season, and putting 2 and 2 together, I pulled out the blood glucose tester and sure enough, it's higher than it should be. Now at least I know what to do about it.

So the next question is, how am I going to do all the taste testing next year? Who's going to lick the sticky off everything ?

If any of you see the same general symptoms, get it checked out. If you can get it under control you can avoid a life of insulin and other issues.

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

Brent,
We have a diabetic over here who buys lots of syrup and tastes it all. There is a lot of taste and spit...Does seem like a waste of good syrup:rolleyes: Keep those sugar levels under control!

[adk1]

why do you really need to taste test it with all the other tests?:confused:

[red maples]

a few years back I had similar symptoms sleepy all the time I could sleep like 12 hours easy get up and take a nap, which is not normal for me at all. usually I do my best on 6-7 hours any more or less and I cadon't function as good. and it was in the spring as well, And I hadn't been bitten by the maple bug yet either (that didn't come til years later) So I went to the doctor did blood tests checked for lymes nothing. he said he had several cases of this same thing. needed an IV of caffine just to get through the day.
but I do have sudden sugar drops from time to time not really anymore since I eat better and excersize alot.

turned out to be a weird virus that started out as a cold back in late winter. and took about 1-2 months to finally works its way though the body no runny nose or anything any more just my body working against this thing wore me out!!!

My doctor also did a little reasearch on spring depression...which is when it looks nice out but you really can't do to much outside yet because its too cold or there really isn't much you can do yet. depression caused by anxioty. Makes sence but real ? I don't know.

but with your case the tests don't lie and is quite a thing. hire a professional taster? or do just like wine tasters do so they don't get smashed taste it swirl it around and spit !! seems sacreligious but you have to do what you have to do.

[Brent]

yeh do it like the wine tasters. Swill it and spit it.

As to why the tasting .. a few factors
-my wife wants to see me tasting at least once per 5 gallon pail
-fear of making buddy stuff
-fear of the RO really screwing it up
-and especially this year because it was so warm - fears of fermentation off-flavor syrup

and finally, because it's the best way to clean everything that gets sticky:D

[red maples]

why do you really need to taste test it with all the other tests?:confused:

you have to make sure that their are no off flavors!!! and besides it tastes good:) and goes good with a boilin' soda chaser.;)

[Brent]

That pre-diabetic diagnosis years ago taught me another lesson.

Blood pressure control. You hear all the babble about excercise helping. I had a blood pressure monitor. I could get home from work, take my blood pressure and get numbers like 135 / 92. Take the dog out and jog a mile and half route by the lake, re-test after 20 minutes or so and it was down to numbers like 118 / 77. The next day the numbers would still be good but the third day they would start to creep up. A run every other day kept everything in order.

[adk1]

Oh I agree, I love to taste it as well, just curious..I ahve never tasted "buddy" syrup or any off flavored syrup for that matter

[Brent]

adk1

if all the syrup you've tasted was by someone else, then you likely got the stuff they pre-tasted.

You haven't lived till you've had a mouthful of buddy syrup.
It's like being sprayed by a skunk, but it doesn't last so long. You'll never forget it.

Off flavors can come from anything. Poor rinsing leaving soaps or acids in the pans, other stuff can fall into pans. I found a peice of oak in my pan once. Wines do well with oak background flavor ... not syrup. You may be luckier than me and never get any of these. But I will continue to test. It's easier to say yuk and trash a batch than it is to have a guy chew you out on the front porch for making garbage.

[Lyle]

That's very good advice. If you notice you don't have the energy you should, get checked out! I had the same symptoms of fatigue. I already knew I was diabetic and ate accordingly. I excersized as well. In the '05 deer season I experienced chest pains and by early 06 I had triple bypass. Missed the '06 season but I'm still around for the '07 and up seasons.

[maplehound]

A couple years ago I was going in to have my second knee replacement. the first one went well and I had decide that after syrup season I would have the other one done. Before they would do it though I had to go through presurgery testing(just a day after the season). They found my blood sugar to be too high for me to have the surgery without my primary doctor signing off on it. When I went to see him less than a week after the first test my sugar was fine and further test showed that my sugar levels where normal in the good range. Dispite all that testing, when I went for rehab after my knee surgery the doctor at the clinic insisted I was diabetic and put me on a low sugar diet and made me see a dietician before he would release me for out patient rehab. WHAT A PAIN THAT WAS

[red maples]

My wife is a doctor and I was telling her about this thread and she said almost all (except for a few instances) adult Diabetes are due to being over weight.

If you start to develope diabetes later in life but you are healthy then you got the disease when you were a child and it slowly kills your pancrease over time. there was a little more medical jargon in the conversation too but I don't remember the term and I am a bad speller anyway.

[Brent]

Diagnosing diabetes or even pre-diabetes ( hypoglycemia I think ) is something not all doctors do well, and in part it is because the symptoms are somewhat fickle ... results depend on what you ate, how many hours before the test, and what you did in the hours before the test. Something as simple as walking to the appointment will throw off the test results.

The A1C test I referred to in the initial post is something not many GP's will call for. What it does is look for a specific marker in blood cells that gets imprinted whenever your blood sugars are too high. Those markers and permanent and last the life of the blood cell, which is about 3 weeks. So doing a count of the cells that have that marker give you a good idea how you've done over the last 3 weeks. It should be the only test done if there is a suspicion of diabetes.

And yes it is a pain, but not many folks know that there are over 40,000 foot amputations a year in the USA due to diabetic induced poor circulation, and that number is going the wrong way and going faster the wrong way.

Anyway, since sweet stuff is our business, we should take note of stuff like this.

====================

PS the wife did the first local farmer's market of the year today. It was a perfect afternoon. Sales were less than 1/2 of the first day last year.
Consumer confidence ???????

[red maples]

hypoglycemia runs in my family but no diabetes. except my grandfather but he's quite heavy!!! but thats what I have but it is different. my mom has it too. I don't react to sugar its the lack of that bothers me sometimes. so I have to drink OJ and a few crackers and I am fine!!