Anyone else making maple syrup? Any hints on clarifying?

Question

We make 3-4 gallons of syrup a year. For each batch of 30-40 gallons of sap, we boil it on a wood fire outdoors until it's reduced to 3-4 gallons, then reduce it on the stove to 3-4 quarts of syrup. During the indoor boiling I skim off any white stuff that boils up, using a large "gold" coffee filter. When my digital thrmometer says it's 7 degrees above the temp of the water boiling on the same stove (not necessarily 212!), I filter it through a cloth syrup cone. And there's still some cloudiness in the bottom of the bottles. Any hints?

The cloudiness is caused by "sugar sand," or niter, a harmless substance that is naturally found in sap. It doesn't precipitate out until the syrup is too thick to put through a water filter, unfortunately.

There is nothing wrong with the syrup if it has a little niter left in it, but it just looks prettier without.

Paper coffee filters clog after about half a cup of syrup goes through them, so the gold filters and the cloth cones are the only things I've found that work, and they don't get it all.

Answer 1

The most dependable way for small-time maple syrup makers to remove this "sugar sand" is by sedimentation, or "settling it out." Although your method of prefiltering followed by filtering through a commercially available syrup cone filter will often produce very clear syrup, it sometimes fails, as we've both found out!

An easier, more dependable method for those who can't afford a commercial filter press is to carefully filter the hot finished syrup (you can just use a good prefilter, if you like, and skip the second final filtering), then let it settle for 1-2 weeks or until a sample is perfectly clear. We use milk cans, but other large, tall containers work well too. You can slowly pour your settled syrup off the top into your canning container, stopping just before the sugar sand starts flowing out. It's usually very easy to see. Your syrup will end up slightly darker, (most people seem to prefer darker syrup, its seems) and you have to heat it to about 190 before canning. Don't heat it much above that point or more sugar sand may settle out.

With the cloudy syrup you already have canned, you can use the same method by pouring the clear stuff off the top, then heating and recanning it. You can use the cloudy stuff for yourself, or do some more prefiltering and settling of the cloudy syrup.

Answer 2

Maple Syrup Filters

Answer 3

Filtering Maple Syrup

Answer 4

Cool, you make your own syrup.

With the cloudiness, after it settles, you can try to decant the clear stuff only or use a turkey baster to pull that stuff off the bottom.

Also, more expensive, you can try running the syrup through a britta water filter. One of those self-contained units that comes with it's own pitcher. Or run the sap through the filter while it's still has a watery consistency.

I don't know what causes the cloudiness and if it's too fine to even filter.

Most website just describe filtering in general terms:
"Filtering. The process of clarifying maple syrup by filtering suspended particles (called sugar sand) through cloth and paper membranes."

Another website describes their process...
"Harmless minerals, known as sugar sand, will slowly settle in finished syrup, so to remove as much as possible, the syrup is poured through a double filter into the milk cans in the background. For the final filtering, we either allow the syrup to settle and then pour the clear syrup off the top, or we do the final filtering through a prefilter and a thick syrup filter. " (link below)

You can try emailing the content owner of the website below for tips. His procedure sounds very similar to what you described.

Answer 5

Excerpt from the Maple Syrup Quality Control Manual

Old, threadbare filters will cause cloudy syrup. Hold filters up to bright light to check for filter problems (cloudy syrup must be graded substandard). Remember to filter hot syrup (210 degrees F) immediately after removal from the pan. Do not stir syrup through the filter.

Answer 6

I filter from the hot finishing pan through a paper liner set up inside a felt liner. The filter clogs up after about 10 litres has gone through. I hang the felt filter and the paper filter over a stainless steel pot in a heated workshop over night or longer until it all has dripped through. I usually produce up to 40 litres of syrup so if you do the math 4 felt filter and paper liners would be required. Running in two batches of 20 litres reduces makes a lighter syrup and still retains the full flavour of single pan production.
Hope this helps.

Answer 7

A maple stir, of course. After living in Maple Syrup country, I have made or bought several of these at festivals. You put about 1/3 c. of warm syrup in a small bowl, take a stir stick and stir. It turns into wonderful maple fudge candy.