Wayyy overcooked - did I save it?

Hi all,

Went inside to plate my dinner for about 10 minutes with temp reading about 214F in a 2x4 divided pan before the day's first drawoff. Came back out and thermometer was showing about 20 degrees over boiling, quickly spiking to what looked like (it was a frantic moment) almost 30 over, so 242F. Half of the last channel by the drawoff thermometer was pretty gooey looking bubbles, depth was fine, about 1.5". I immediately started drawing off (it barely wanted to go through my cone gravity prefilters) and dumped about 3 or 4 gallons of fresh sap into the first channel from my !oh sh*t bucket! which quickly brought the temp in the last channel back down to 212. I continued drawing off the definitely not finished syrup in an effort to immediately dilute the overcooked stuff before it could cool and crystalize. I did smell slight burnt sugar when I first got out there, but I tasted the drawn off stuff, which was over-diluted at the time and it was fine.

Did I save it?! I only have about 35 more gallons to boil in today's batch. I don't want to bottle and then find out it all turns to sugar.

Is there a maximum temp that's the point of no return? No hydro in that moment, so all I have to go off of is the temps.

Sounds like you saved it. It happens. There are definitely times you can walk away from your evaporator, but before the first draw isn't one for me. There's a lot of syrup in the pan and the lower temp can be deceiving. It just hasn't gotten going yet. Right after the first draw is a good time for a quick break bc most of syrup is gone and there's more fresh sweet in the pan.

If it happens again (and I hope it doesn't), don't put it through the filter as it comes off. Heavy syrup is a bear to filter. Go right into a bucket and then either lighten it with the lighter draw coming or with permeate/water. You can then check the density right in the bucket and it will still be plenty hot for the filter when it thins out.

Take a closer look at the last channel. If there are no scorched spots you definitely saved it. If there are you're going to need to drain your pan and clean those spots, and that still leaves an open question about whether or not the stuff you drew off is palatable. I have found after a very minor scorch the syrup was okay. But I would not dump it back in the pan, I would cook it down separately and then decide whether to keep it (and get a second opinion if you're not sure).

GO

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Originally Posted by MarquisVII

Is there a maximum temp that's the point of no return?

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367 deg F -- the ignition point of sucrose. :lol:

Realistically, as long as there was no scorch, no black smoke, and no off-flavor, you saved it. A good reminder that it is never a good idea to walk away from a running evaporator. Burning some syrup is frequently the best outcome you can hope for. Many folks have lost their sugarhouses doing that.

Ok, I'm feeling good. Thanks for the 367 number, Dr Tim! I drained the pan at the end of the night and the last channel has a thick layer of scaled on niter and what looks like a bit of baked on sugar, but the color is a dark golden. Evidently I narrowly escaped a scorching. This is the closest I need to come to disaster with my shiny new Smokey Lake pan!!

Thanks all.

Well, if you happen to need another Smoky Lake 2x4 divided pan, I've got one I'll be selling. ;)

Glad you were able to save your syrup (and your shack!)

You don't like your divided pan Daniel?

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Originally Posted by DrTimPerkins

367 deg F -- the ignition point of sucrose. :lol:

Realistically, as long as there was no scorch, no black smoke, and no off-flavor, you saved it. A good reminder that it is never a good idea to walk away from a running evaporator. Burning some syrup is frequently the best outcome you can hope for. Many folks have lost their sugarhouses doing that.

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The ONLY time I walk away from my evaporator is when I'm shutting down for the day/night.
I don't care what you have, things just happen too fast. Just a matter of time, but it'll bite you.

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Originally Posted by Pdiamond

You don't like your divided pan Daniel?

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The pan has been very good to learn on but we are looking at upgrading.

That's awesome. Once you start it's an ongoing love affair. What size are you thinking of increasing up too.

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Originally Posted by Pdiamond

That's awesome. Once you start it's an ongoing love affair. What size are you thinking of increasing up too.

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I'll send you a PM. Don't want to hijack the thread any more than we need to.