Does anyone use a kitchen aid mixer, small Hobart, or any other type of mixer to make sugar. Any thoughts or insight appreciated.
Does anyone use a kitchen aid mixer, small Hobart, or any other type of mixer to make sugar. Any thoughts or insight appreciated.
Check this link out very good information.
http://mapletrader.com/community/sho...anulated+sugar
Jared
I use an upright countertop KitchenAid. I wouldn't do over a quart at a time, I'd be concerned about burning out the mixer's motor. Ted
If you do go with a kitchen aid, make sure you go with a higher end model. The cheaper ones have plastic gears and the better ones metal gears. Researched this last year for my wife's Xmas present.
You want one that the mixer head does not tip up. The bowl goes up and down. These are the ones with metal gears. There is some kind of a replaceable shear mechanism built in so you won't ruin the motor. My daughter who bakes looked into this last summer when she got one. Not a lot of price difference for the good ones.
William
950 taps
3 X 12 Thor pans on a Brian Arch
CDL 600 expandable
Ya, I got a heck of a black Friday deal on it. Think it was $210........believe it was the pro 600?? Can't remember exactly but yes, it does not tip up like some do.
I got a deal on my wife's 600 pro (with extra warranty) but she hasn't let me use it yet. 1/2 Gallon at a time sounds good to me.
Jared
Wow 3qts by hand would break my wrists. Some. batches are easier than others for me but 16oz at a wack is about it for me I use a dab of butter while heating and transfer to stainless bread bowl. I heat another while I stir . I got about 7 gallons of left over from last year that Im converting. Im trying to turn it into a 1 day job insted of 2 weeks.
44 27'08/71 27'56
300 totalish taps 250 on tube and bosworth sap sucker
50 bucket and bags about 40-50 gallons a season
on a 2 by 7 home made evaporator and sugar shack
1st gen circa 1966 still learning stuff
I would imagine it would be considerably more difficult in a bowl. Having it in a pot with a wide heavy bottom gives more stability. Through the hardest part of the stirring, we just keep chopping into the sugar and moving it in clumps, spinning the pot around as we go. Then when it really starts to dry, turn the spoon over and use the back of it to stir more thoroughly.
I have also found that too much oil, while making it less likely to foam over on the stove, makes it stir harder. No idea why. And to be fair, if I'm doing more then a couple batches I do wear light gloves to avoid blisters. The wife always wears gloves. We've done as much as 9 gallons in a day. I can keep up with it solo, but usually she stirs at least a couple batches to give me a break. There have been other times when I've taken the kids on delivery or something and she's done 5-6 batches in a row by herself.
It took some practice to learn the technique - we never would have considered doing this much at once when we first started. It's only in the last year that we've gone to doing two pots at once so we can do 60 lbs in a day (that's the amount our primary buyer takes each month.) I'll try to make a video when we have the next sugar day.
Thanks for the tips Abbott I am off to sugar camp for the week to put wood up and clean up everything. When I get home I will get back to sugar making. What size pan do you use. I liked the bread bowl as I could hold between my legs. Wow, 60lbs a day by hand is impressive.
44 27'08/71 27'56
300 totalish taps 250 on tube and bosworth sap sucker
50 bucket and bags about 40-50 gallons a season
on a 2 by 7 home made evaporator and sugar shack
1st gen circa 1966 still learning stuff