Slightly overcooked sap

[Jwolverton03]

Was reheating syrup on the propane stove for filtering and accidentally cooked it a little further than I should have… I have a Murphy cup, and it said I should be around 60.5-61 brix, and I was closer to 62 on the hydrometer.. can I just filter and bottle as usual or do I need to dilute it?

[Sledheed]

You can do whatever you want. If you are small and not selling it, bottle it. May grow some crystals, but it wil stand up on you pancakes. If you dilute it add slowly, or you will be bkiling a point or two off over propane.

[Jwolverton03]

You can do whatever you want. If you are small and not selling it, bottle it. May grow some crystals, but it wil stand up on you pancakes. If you dilute it add slowly, or you will be bkiling a point or two off over propane.

Not selling it, but giving it away to some friends/family.. but I assume they’ll use their jars fast enough it may not matter!

[DRoseum]

Hydrometer or Murphy cup could be slightly off anyways. I remember a study from Dr. Tim that showed how far off they can be. I have multiple SmokyLake gold vermont certified hydrometers and a murphy cup and they all read slightly different from each other. Some are off by nearly 3/4 brix (and no, the paper hasn't slid as these come with the red line to show that). I have cross checked them with a calibrated optical refractometer and digital Misco refractomer countless times.

Being over by 0.5 brix for your own consumption is not going to be a big deal. In fact, given the accuracy and error of these instruments, I'd rather read a touch heavy and ensure it's actually over 66 Brix.

[Andy VT]

I'll add that if your equipment is accurate, you were at worst 66.9+1.5 brix which is 68.4 brix which is still in spec. (68.9 is the max in all states and I think Canada too)
The murphy cup tells you the reading that is equivalent to 66.9 brix.
Which by the way is the legal minimum in Vermont and New Hampshire.
I realize you are in neither of those places, but the point is that its better to be over the murphy cup reading than under.
I am in Vermont, and although I don't really sell (only sort of), I consider the murphy cup reading the bare minimum and go at least one point over.
So, I'd say, you're spot on!

[ennismaple]

All our syrup tends to be taken off a little thick and then diluted using hot condensate water to achieve desired density - which is much easier than thickening thin syrup. Ideally I aim for 67.5 and bring down by 0.5 to 0.75 Brix. More than once I've tested at over 70 Brix coming off the evaporator. I'll try to bring it part way to below 68 with an initial amount of condensate, then re-test and fine tune to get 66.8 (ish).

With wood fired and the open/closed auto draw-off we can't be as precise as you can with a modulating draw-off. It's on my wish list, along with a lot of other improvements.