Maple Syrup Chat 2013

Daily member chats. Here is a place where you can ramble on about what ever you choose.
Post Reply
User avatar
Go Go Diablo
Site Admin
Posts:1830
Joined:Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:47 am
Location:Sobieski, Wisconsin
Contact:
Maple Syrup Chat 2013

Post by Go Go Diablo » Sat Apr 06, 2013 2:07 pm

Hi all,

It looks to be a good year for maple syrup. Weather around here remains cool and trees are starting to cooperate.

I know a number of you collect sap and boil.If you would, please share your techniques for reducing or eliminating sugar sand from your canning process. I would appreciate some help for improving this part of our process.

Bruce
Too many Diablos and parts to count.
Yamaha 600 SX

User avatar
Andy
Posts:21
Joined:Tue Nov 13, 2012 5:24 pm

Re: Maple Syrup Chat 2013

Post by Andy » Sat Apr 06, 2013 8:20 pm

Hi Bruce,
By all accounts it is a great year for maple syrup in Grey and Bruce Counties here in Southern Ontario. I was not able to tap this year since my wife fell in Nov. and broke her back. She is coming along o.k. but it would be hard to do everything without her in the setup we have and even harder to get her to sit and watch. We are a small 200 or so taps with a two pan boil system. We can do twenty or so gallons of syrup most years before we tire out. We use eggs to help get the sugar sand out. It is how my dad and his dad did it so we always have. We take the syrup from the pans to a cottage and heat about half a gallon on the stove to a good rolling boil. To this we add two scrambled up eggs. We cook this up then double strain it through moistened wool blanket two times. Works real good for us. That being said we have friends that use the new cone filters with the sleeves in them and we tried that last time we boiled and it seemed to do a pretty good job too. I guess it all depends on what you are used to. I would be curious to know if anyone else uses eggs. Sure have a lot of great memories of collecting sap with the Hus-ski with the old man when he was still alive. Andy

User avatar
Go Go Diablo
Site Admin
Posts:1830
Joined:Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:47 am
Location:Sobieski, Wisconsin
Contact:

Re: Maple Syrup Chat 2013

Post by Go Go Diablo » Sat Apr 06, 2013 8:55 pm

Eggs! Are you foolin with me Andy? :D

That's the kind of creative ideas you get from this most excellent forum. I'd like to hear more about that suggestion and also what others do.
Too many Diablos and parts to count.
Yamaha 600 SX

User avatar
Andy
Posts:21
Joined:Tue Nov 13, 2012 5:24 pm

Re: Maple Syrup Chat 2013

Post by Andy » Sat Apr 06, 2013 9:49 pm

I know it sounds crazy but it does work. My dad talked of people using milk as well but he felt it changed the color of the syrup. I found this little article that explains it better than I can. Andy

http://www.atkinsonmaple.com/files/FilteringSyrup.pdf

devil dog
Posts:209
Joined:Tue Apr 29, 2008 7:52 pm

Re: Maple Syrup Chat 2013

Post by devil dog » Wed Apr 10, 2013 8:51 am

Hi Bruce, we had a good season here in NH. Pulled taps on April 8th. If you dont want to invest in a filter press, what works good is to get a couple yards of white flannel from Wal-Mart. Then pour it though while it is still a little light ( before it is syrup).Then clean in hot water and re-use. I put it in glass containers ,and all the bad stuff will settle to to the bottom in a day or two,and then you can pour off the good stuff off the top. I have a stainless milk strainer and pail I got used and it takes a 6 1/2" disposable milk filter and that works really good. I use it to filter raw sap too.The wool cone filters also work excellent,but when you have only small amounts,you lose quite a bit of syrup in the filter. I invested in a small used 5" filter press this season with a hand pump and that works mint.

Qtiddman
Posts:7
Joined:Thu Apr 11, 2013 10:13 am
Location:Upper michigan
Contact:

Re: Maple Syrup Chat 2013

Post by Qtiddman » Thu Apr 11, 2013 1:03 pm

The maple season just started a week ago here in the up
3 atvs and a side by side

User avatar
Andy
Posts:21
Joined:Tue Nov 13, 2012 5:24 pm

Re: Maple Syrup Chat 2013

Post by Andy » Sun Mar 22, 2015 3:15 pm

Hi Bruce, Another maple syrup season is here and we took off our first boil. Just wanted to send a couple pictures of us using eggs to help take out the sugar sand. We just pour the eggs into a high boil, stir it until the eggs cook, put it in the strainer with a wool filter then take out the cooked egg. You can see how much of the sand the eggs take. Less sand to clog up the filter. Happy spring to you. Andy
P1030291 (640x480).jpg
P1030291 (640x480).jpg (133.68KiB)Viewed 7881 times
P1030301 (640x480) (640x480).jpg
P1030301 (640x480) (640x480).jpg (111.31KiB)Viewed 7881 times
P1030302 (640x480) (2).jpg
P1030302 (640x480) (2).jpg (136.73KiB)Viewed 7881 times

User avatar
Go Go Diablo
Site Admin
Posts:1830
Joined:Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:47 am
Location:Sobieski, Wisconsin
Contact:

Re: Maple Syrup Chat 2013

Post by Go Go Diablo » Sun Mar 22, 2015 5:01 pm

That is incredible.

We are heading up to camp this weekend and will give that a try. I'll let you know how it works for us.

Bruce
Too many Diablos and parts to count.
Yamaha 600 SX

User avatar
Go Go Diablo
Site Admin
Posts:1830
Joined:Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:47 am
Location:Sobieski, Wisconsin
Contact:

Re: Maple Syrup Chat 2013

Post by Go Go Diablo » Sun Mar 29, 2015 4:00 pm

Well, I can say I've never seen an uglier pot of boiling syrup! :o But when we poured it through the filter, we ended up with the clearest syrup we have ever had. It did work just like Andy posted.
IMG_0190-001.JPG
IMG_0190-001.JPG (32.75KiB)Viewed 7825 times
IMG_0194-001.JPG
IMG_0194-001.JPG (38.58KiB)Viewed 7825 times
Thank you so much Andy. 2015 will be known as the year of the Egg at Syrup Camp!
Too many Diablos and parts to count.
Yamaha 600 SX

Post Reply