If there wasn't a lot of jars and you have room in a freezer just put them in there until you need them.Originally Posted by Mudhoney
If there wasn't a lot of jars and you have room in a freezer just put them in there until you need them.
That's a great idea. And properly made maple syrup will not break jars even in subzero temps.
As far as canning temps, 180F is the minimum recommended temperature. I like a little margin to allow for temperature variations, cooler glass, etc. The Maple Syrup Producer's Manual says to not bottle/can over 195 or more sugar sand may develop and color may darken.
We feel canning/bottling at 185-190 gives us a good buffer.
Standard density syrup in Vermont is 66.9 degrees brix, so crystallization should not be a problem until above that point.
What temp do you filter? Or should you filter after it cools then reheat to 180-190 then bottle? I have ended up with sugar sand in all 4 gallons I made this year but last year was not a problem. I feel like I rush to get it filtered and bottled so it will seal and sterilize correctly.
I filter off the finish stove into a coffee urn and let it cool down to 180-190 range before jarring.
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It always seems to be clear after I filter but it forms in the bottle
I think all you can do is reheat that syrup to 185° - 190°, and re-jar it. Sorry, Ted
I think syrup can be safely filtered nearly boiling hot, but regardless, it should be filtered very hot and at a temperature ABOVE the canning/jarring temp.
Especially important is not to filter syrup, allow it to cool, and then reheat above 195 or so.
Two different experts have told me that sometimes fine sugar sand will appear in gravity-filtered syrup even if everything was theoretically done right.
I boil to finish temp, dump it into the cone filter (7 pre-filters, 1 orlon), which sits on top of a hot coffee percolator. I dunk my jars in hot water, and fill them immediately.
I wash out the filters after each batch. I run hot water through them until they are as white as I can get them.
The first batch came out completely clear. Each batch since then has a slight bit of cloudiness to it, which is settling out. But it's really minor.
My first pre-filter looks like it's full of mud.
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