Keeping syrup back to bottle later

[Paddymountain]

Okay, smaller producers. How do you keep syrup to bottle later? I'm talking about late spring early summer. I don't want to bottle all my syrup in let's say pints, or smaller and then have someone want a gallon or half gallon. or maybe I run out of 1/2 pints initialy ,and want to bottle more of them.
What is the best way to keep syrup to bottle,I'll call it short term(2 months or so)?

[dschultz]

If you have a chest freezer and have the room,put 4 gallons in a 5 gallon pail cover it and put it in the freezer.Then when you want to can some take it out a day ahead of time so it can warm to room temp,otherwise it is very thick.
When you first take it out of the freezer it will look like vanilla ice cream.That's nothing to worry about its just the water came to the top and froze, and when it thaws it mixes back together,and it tastes just as fresh as the day it came off the evaporator.

[Haynes Forest Products]

First buy the best "FOOD GRADE" container that is easy to use and will pour easy. Hot pack it and store in a cool dark area. If it stays undisturbed sedement will settle and you can pour or pump it off the top for nice clear syrup. Reheat to 185 and bottle.

[SeanD]

I agree with Haynes, though I will add that the container should be on the thicker side. I used baker's buckets the same way and one really warped - not from the heat, but from the vacuum that's created as it cools. I couldn't use the bucket again, but at least I had an air tight seal.

I can't remember exactly why that one bucket was so bad. It could have been a really thin bucket or I may have put the syrup in the bucket at 200 plus degrees. The others may have cooled more in the filter and been more in the 180s when it went in.

Sean

[3rdgen.maple]

I do exacally as Haynes describes and it works out great. You can get a nice blue 5 gallon syrup jug from bascoms on the cheap side. 11bucks.

[whalems]

sugarbush supply has 5 gallon buckets w/ lids for $5.10 according to there online cataloge. here is the web page http://www.sugarbushsupplies.com/2009_Catalog/bulkcontainersfillers.pdf hope this helps. mike

[Father & Son]

I have had very good results using 2 1/2 gallon containers that I buy from Mann Lake (a bee keeping company). I put the syrup in these right from the filter press and put the containes in a chest freezer until I need to put it in jugs. Stores in the freezer for a long time.

Jim

[red maples]

2 things I do which both sorta mentioned here. I use the blue 5 gallon containers I have quite a few of these just grade it before throw a sticker on it so you which is which date batch what ever. hot pack them and I leave em in the sugarhouse until it warms a bit then I bring them inside (woodstove is in the basement) when woodstove is done for the sumer.

the other I got gallon freezer bottles from the maple guys they look like gallon cloudy plastic vinegar jugs. I fill doesn't have to be hot and put them into the freezer I usually keep a gallon or 2 of each grade in there just pull them out a day before so they can thaw or just keep them in the fridge.

[Paddymountain]

Thanks for all the replies. I was thinking I might buy some 1 gallon bottles
and bottle up about 6 or 8, then I could sell them outright or use them to do up smaller bottles. I would think it would be better if I could have about 10 gal back this year. I only made 17gal. last year and it was gone by Memorial Day. I did have people later in the spring wanting a specific size, and I would like to accomodate them.
Paddymountain

[Dennis H.]

If you are not putting the syrup in hot use 1gal milk jugs. 2 yrs ago I went to Harrisburg Dairy and bought a bag of milk jugs and lids, I can't remember exactly how much it cost but it was about $1 per jug for about 30 jugs.
They would make nice freezer jugs.

This year I am going to buy some 2 gal food grade buckets to store syrup in. They are rated for hot packing also. They look just like the 5gal buckets just smaller.

[ennismaple]

We use the 10L white plastic jugs that Atkinson's sells and put them in the freezer:
http://atkinsonmaple.com/catalogue/bulk_containers

They work great for us and in a full-size chest freezer you can put an entire 35 gallon drum and still have room for a cut and wrapped deer.

[leavralph]

I put mine up in 5 gallon containers then bottle as I need easy to handle and fits well in the canner.

[3rdgen.maple]

Can you freezer storing guys explain the reasoning why you do it that way? Not critisizing the way you do it just wondering why. I like the hotpack way personally for a few reasons. It lets the syrup settle and makes for a nice clear syrup in glass, I dont fill my chest freezer with syrup, Dont have to wait for it to thaw and Im not spending money on electricity. The only thing I can come up with is the syrup might not downgrade a bit but Im really not sure if freezing stops that either.

[red maples]

freezing syrup preserves it almost indefinitly. no crystyalization. this way you don't have to hot pack it. I keep it in for "just in case". somebody wants a 1/2 gallon of B I run out of of 1/2 gals ooops!!! I can throw it in a pot of hot water if I need it qucker. Also if I have 1/2 gallonor what ever left but don't wanna open a new 5 gallon container or don't wanna fill a retail bottle what ever. its just easy to throw it in a container and pop it in the freezer or fridge and mix it with the next batch next time I bottle. I have space in the chest freezer anyway.

I also make candy in small batches and instead of opening up a 5 gallon for 1/2 a gallon of med for candy. I just pull the freezer batch a day before and pop it in the fridge and then I don't have to repack a 5 gallon.

[ennismaple]

I agree with Red Maples - stored in the freezer it lasts indefinitely. The large containers for temporary storage allow us to fill any order that comes in. The electricity cost is minimal once the syrup is frozen and not much compared to the cost to replace a gallon jug that has gone bad.

[Rhino]

I heard of a producer who stores his syrup in open top barrels and pours wax over the (cold) syrup to form a seal. Says he can pull the wax off to bottle in summer and even remelt the wax the next season. Sounds like what some people do to their jam and jelly jars. No freezer needed.

[Haynes Forest Products]

I had a buddy that was doing syrup with me use the paraffin wax idea. We hot packed into some SS milk pails and just tossed some of the wax blocks in and it melted floated on the top and sealed right up. Then when it cooled completly and the syrup shrank it sucked the wax down breaking the seal and when it warmed up slightly in the spring it oozed out the cracks. It never did mold or spoil it just wasnt a good idea for us. I think the best containers for the little producer is the 2 1/2 gallon honey jugs. They will take the heat they come in 2 container boxes and they dont have a lip to keep liquid from draining completly.

[3rdgen.maple]

Hotpacking will keep it indefinately as well. I opened a bottle of syrup my long gone grandfather made and there was nothing wrong with it. As far as I know places like Bascom's dont freeze any syrup either and never heard anything about syrup going bad. The only advantage I can see personally is if your dipping into a container more than once and you dont have to hotpack it again. I wonder if there is a chance of freezer burn occuring? Other than that it just makes more sense to me to hotpack it right on the spot and be done with it. I keep several mason jars of light syrup just for maple candy and such so that isnt a problem. I guess what ever works the best for each person.

[Haynes Forest Products]

I have 1/2 gallon that I use to replenish the smaller table bottle and I keep it in the pantry. I open and pour into the table bottle and reseal it and store it at room temp and I have never had a mold problem. It has been opened a halve dozen times over the last year. NOW im not recomending you do it.

[Sugarmaker]

We only make 100-150 gallon of syrup, I use the same method as Jim (Father & Son) the 2-1/2 gallon (honey) jugs into the chest freezer for bulk storage of syrup. We filter into these jugs, mark the lid with the grade, and date, and place them in the freezer within a week or so. This 2-1/2 gal. size is easy to handle, and they can be stacked two high in a freezer. I can syrup several times throughout the year and in all grades, so I can pick and choose what syrup I want to can and how much and if some is left it just goes back in the freezer.
Regards,
Chris

[Brent]

I have to fess up to dumping about 75 gallons of syrup this year. We hot packed into 5 gallon pails and when we went back to them after a few months in the hot sugar shack it was a junk. The key is refrigeration or freezing. We're not going to repeat that loss again.

[3rdgen.maple]

You werent suppose to leave them in a hot sugarhouse all summer. 75 gallons is a huge loss sorry to hear that one.

[Sugarmaker]

Brent,
You should have been able to sell that for C grade?
Chris

[Brent]

maybe grade V.

Up here a small producer is screwed. Every barrel has to go for lead tests that cost $55. a shot. Not worth the trouble to drive it to the dealer.

[Paddymountain]

Thanks for all the replies, I think I'll use some 2 gallon buckets,and set my spare fridge down to a little below 30 degrees, I want to keep syrup for about two months.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I usually bottle up about all of mine when I make except some years I bottle a few gallon in 1 gallon syrup jugs and freeze them and just reheat and bottle into smaller containers as it is already filtered when it is put into the one gallon syrup jugs.

[dshansen]

If you do not have freezer space for year round storage, you can re-boil the syrup, then filter it again. Tastes like the day you made it. no need to throw it out. I did that only once with 15 gallons of syrup that was storage in the garage during the summer. Now I re-boil all may syrup prior to sale.

[jmayerl]

so if i'm understanding everyone correctly, If i want to put my syrup in the freezer i DON'T have to hot pack it? Here are my plans then.

1. I will maybe be getting2-3 gallons drawn off per boil(2x6 countinous flow flat pan)
2. I have a ton of 3 gallon pails that I have gotten from the bakery(they seem very thick and sturdy)
3. I will be filtering through cone filters as i drawoff into a SS pail
4. pouring from the pail into the plastic container and sealing it, then freezing it for packing at a later date(to fill a pail may take 2 days)
5. open pail(say in june) reheat to 180 then hot pack into small containers.

This is the only way I think i can do it without another larger finishing pan. Will this work or do I have to worry about mold and contamination?

[whalems]

That will work

[Brent]

If you don't hot pack you will likely have some mould spores getting into you pails. When you take it out of the freezer they will get active. The mould spores are not killed by freezing.

[ennismaple]

It will definitely work. Freezing won't kill the mold spores but it does render them inactive. They'll only start growing again when you thaw out the syrup so as long as you re-heat it right after its thawed out you'll be fine. We freeze 10L plastic jugs all the time and do exactly what you mentioned.