Quote Originally Posted by jrgagne99 View Post
Standing up on soapbox here.

If at all possible, I don't think we sugarmakers should be letting that last bit of sweet from the season sit for weeks or months just to use the acidity of the moldy, sludgy mess to "automatically" clean the pans. We are making a food product here. We need to convey a high level of cleanliness and attention to detail to the public in all aspects of our operations. Otherwise, we are putting our reputation at risk. If people lose confidence in our product, sales will suffer. Our industry is not "too big to fail". We need to strive to maintain the sugarhouse in an inspection-worthy state at all times. Unless we want the regulators to start coming down on us even harder!

getting down from soapbox now.
Would you rather convey the message of using highly acidic cleaners that run the risk of contamination of next year's sap or the groundwater around your camp or using a natural method that utilizes every last bit of the sap we take from the tree? Our pans are quadruple rinsed between being drained and any new sap being put in them so there is zero risk to the public. While this forum is public it is far from being an advertisement to the public. There are many 'dirty jobs' associated with all aspects of food preparation that honestly most consumers would rather not know about.