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Thread: Maple sugar storage

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2017
    Location
    Maine
    Posts
    5

    Default Maple sugar storage

    This season we made some maple sugar, mainly for use in coffee. This week I discovered that it has developed what looks like fine white mold. Also some liquid syrup is settling in the bottom of the jar. I thought that maple sugar was shelf stable, apparently I am mistaken, or some other problem has occurred.

    How should it be stored?
    Can I somehow save what had gone bad?

    Thanks!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    North Grenville, Ontario
    Posts
    969

    Default

    This is the first year I made large amounts of sugar. I made them in 1 gallon batches.
    Couple things I noticed is that after hot sifting the sugar and letting it sit for an hour or 2 to cool off if it has any moisture left in it it will harden up a bit. Only happened to me once. If this happens I spread it on a cookie sheet on parchment paper and put in oven at lowest possible setting on oven I think 150F for 10-15 minutes. Then hot sift again.
    And it's good to go. When it's done if you make a pile of it and it kinda slides down the edges then it's good. If it just sits there it's to moist. There is a word for this kinda testing but I have no idea what it's called. I just use if it stiffens up when cool it's got too much moisture in it.
    Im just guessing. But the white spots you are getting might be from too much moisture left in the sugar. Or it's sugar bonding to nitre if there is any left in the syrup.
    For packaging the bulk of sugar I had this year I used a food saver vacuum packer and did 2kg packages (5lbs).
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  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2017
    Location
    Maine
    Posts
    5

    Default

    So I used the wrong term for what we made, it’s maple sugar candy. We poured it on a sheet pan so it was about 1/4 inch thick and let it harden. Then broke it in to chunks. Also did some with the maple leaf shaped molds.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    North Grenville, Ontario
    Posts
    969

    Default

    Can't help with candy, I've only made it a couple times and it never lasted more then a week before it was all consumed. So no time to actually store it. But I do know that shelf life of sugar candy is not more then a couple weeks. Unless it's crystal coated. Here's a good article on it.

    http://www.nnyagdev.org/maplefactshe...ar%20Candy.pdf
    600 taps on vacuum
    Lapierre mechanical Releaser
    CDL electric releaser
    2.5 x 10 CDL Venturi ( new for the 2024 season )
    Home made modulating auto draw off
    Homemade RO 2 x 4" membranes
    CDL 16 x 16 bottler
    Wesfab 7" filter press
    Delaval 73 vacuum pumps

    12 hives of bees

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Northwest PA
    Posts
    684

    Default

    Bricklayer,
    The word you're looking for is "creep". That's the slow movement maple sugar makes when poured in a mound at the proper moisture content.

    Jim
    12 x 16 Sugarhouse, 12 x 16 Woodshed
    2 x 8 “The Mutt” Evaporator with Marcland Drawoff
    Leader oil fired arch, Dallaire raised flue, Smoky Lake syrup pan and hoods with pre-heater
    New Leader Clear Filter Press/Air Diaphragm Pump
    5” Hand Pump Filter Press from Daryl-One of the first three! On loan to a friend.
    Deer Run 250 gal/hr RO
    A Very Understanding Wife
    "At any time during the day you're only 10 seconds from disaster!"

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