Weird jelly like syrup

[Rangdale]

I work with a guy who had some of his maple syrup turn into what can only be described as a jelly like substance. He admittedly said it was probably thin when he canned it but canned it straight from the evaporator so it was boiling. It sat for about a month and when he open and poured it out a bunch of it came out at once with kind of a plop. He re-boiled it and even at boiling it more or less plopped out into the filter. It eventually went thru the filter (cloth filter) but was like a blob again after it did. I had no idea what to tell him as I've never seen anything like this but thought maybe someone here has come across or heard of this before? He also says it tastes different now, still on the sweet side but not exactly like syrup. Anyone have any thoughts??

[motowbrowne]

Sounds like ropey syrup to me. It'll happen if it gets warm and spoils. It can happen to sap or almost finished syrup and anything between. It sure is goofy stuff. I tried to fill a ladle with some concentrate from my back pan that had sat around for 24 hours too long. The ladle filled, but when I lifted it out of the bucket it pulled right out of the ladle and rejoined the rest of the blob.

[DrTimPerkins]

Do a search on this site for ROPEY sap or ROPEY syrup. Also known as STRINGY. It is caused by bacterial action in sap or pan sweet that was contaminated (same organism that causes sour milk). It probably also isn't dense enough...it is almost impossible to get an accurate density on the stuff. What you're eating is bacterial exudate (snot) mixed into maple syrup.

Bottom line....dump it. Works better as a novelty toy than food.

[Rangdale]

Awesome, thanks for your help!! He did say he left a bunch of sap in the pan for 4 days (stuff he had boiled for awhile but wasn't syrup) and then added more the next weekend and kept boiling. Apparently a few of those days were in the 50's and his rig is outside. That must have been it. Sounds gross

[Run Forest Run!]

I still can't get over the fact that once it plopped out of the jar he decided to taste it! hahahaha

[Rangdale]

He was just asking me if he can still eat it as he says it still tastes kind of sweet. Said I wasn't sure if it would hurt you or not, I'm guessing it wont.

[ennismaple]

Sounds ropey to me. You couldn't pay me enough to eat it!

We use old sap in our pans for a month or more to clean them. One year I was brave enough to put my hand in it to show someone how stringy it was. When I dropped the handful of snot some of it went over the edge of the pan and next thing you knew it was climbing out like some sort of swamp creature! I guess it was technically siphoning but it was still freaky, disgusting and cool at the same time!

[Haynes Forest Products]

Turns out that p[eople will pay good money for it. I had 5) 5 gallon buckets of it and a guy drove 85 miles to get it for Bear bait. Tasting it wasnt so bad. I have friends that think I'm nuts for tasting liquids that drip from a car to see what it is and I'm still a sane as they come.

[maple flats]

Bears also eat a rotten beaver carcass, not a god comparison. However if you need to get rid of some that may well be a good market if you can find the buyers.

[ennismaple]

The last 8 gallons of half syrup that I couldn't get to run off the front pan will be going on a bear bait this weekend. Bears will eat almost anything.