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Can I thin out my freshly made maple syrup that is too thick, and is starting to crystalize after 2 days?
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LaVonne Davis-Schenck
Can I thin out my freshly made maple syrup that is too thick, and is starting to crystalize after 2 days?
You might want to at least boil the water for 10 minutes or so. You won't need very much to keep it from crystalizing. You might also heat the bottle of syrup up at the same time. Maybe in the pot of water you are boiling.
Honey will do the same thing, and a reheating and a little bit of boiling water will uncrystalize it for some time. Eventually all heavy sugar syrups seem to crystalize, unless they are something like Karo high fructose corn syrup. Maybe it's just the nature of the larger sugar molecules.
A little added acid like lemon juice will also help. Brown sugar syrups are more acidic, and less likely to crystalize. Of course they all will eventually crystalize if you get enough water out.
You might want to at least boil the water for 10 minutes or so. You won't need very much to keep it from crystalizing. You might also heat the bottle of syrup up at the same time. Maybe in the pot of water you are boiling.
Honey will do the same thing, and a reheating and a little bit of boiling water will uncrystalize it for some time. Eventually all heavy sugar syrups seem to crystalize, unless they are something like Karo high fructose corn syrup. Maybe it's just the nature of the larger sugar molecules.
A little added acid like lemon juice will also help. Brown sugar syrups are more acidic, and less likely to crystalize. Of course they all will eventually crystalize if you get enough water out.
No, you can't. If it is crystallizing it means you got it too hot when you're boiling it. I believe the sugar crystals will eventually propigate in the fresh sap you add. What you did is to heat it past past the approximately 219F that is the temperature at which the syrup turns to sap. At least that's the temperature here in west Michigan. The most certain way to tell if maple sap has become maple syrup is to use a hydrometer. A hydrometer measures the amount of sugar in the syrup. When the sap reaches 66.9% sugar, it is then maple syrup.
I don't do syrup every year, roughly every 5 or so years. I usually get about 4-6 gallons of syrup from 7-8 very productive trees. I 've been doing it for a little over 30 years. I've never used a hydrometer myself, I've always gone by temperature and appearance. Last year I screwed up, call it “distracted boiling,” and let a batch I was finishing go too long. When this happens (ok, it wasn't the first time) I just continue boiling it and turn it into maple candy. I turned my over boiled syrup into 5 1/2 pounds of maple “food of the gods.” Last year I got the candy plus 6 gallons of syrup.
This is the basic recipe I used. If you don't have molds just pour it into a shallow wax paper lined cookie tray, let it cool a bit, then score it (an inch or so) with a knife. When it's cool it will break into nice chunks. The important step is #2, you have to really stir it to make it nice and creamy. Good luck!
No, you can't. If it is crystallizing it means you got it too hot when you're boiling it. I believe the sugar crystals will eventually propigate in the fresh sap you add. What you did is to heat it past past the approximately 219F that is the temperature at which the syrup turns to sap. At least that's the temperature here in west Michigan. The most certain way to tell if maple sap has become maple syrup is to use a hydrometer. A hydrometer measures the amount of sugar in the syrup. When the sap reaches 66.9% sugar, it is then maple syrup.
I don't do syrup every year, roughly every 5 or so years. I usually get about 4-6 gallons of syrup from 7-8 very productive trees. I 've been doing it for a little over 30 years. I've never used a hydrometer myself, I've always gone by temperature and appearance. Last year I screwed up, call it “distracted boiling,” and let a batch I was finishing go too long. When this happens (ok, it wasn't the first time) I just continue boiling it and turn it into maple candy. I turned my over boiled syrup into 5 1/2 pounds of maple “food of the gods.” Last year I got the candy plus 6 gallons of syrup.
This is the basic recipe I used. If you don't have molds just pour it into a shallow wax paper lined cookie tray, let it cool a bit, then score it (an inch or so) with a knife. When it's cool it will break into nice chunks. The important step is #2, you have to really stir it to make it nice and creamy. Good luck!
You might want to at least boil the water for 10 minutes or so. You won't need very much to keep it from crystalizing. You might also heat the bottle of syrup up at the same time. Maybe in the pot of water you are boiling.
Honey will do the same thing, and a reheating and a little bit of boiling water will uncrystalize it for some time. Eventually all heavy sugar syrups seem to crystalize, unless they are something like Karo high fructose corn syrup. Maybe it's just the nature of the larger sugar molecules.
A little added acid like lemon juice will also help. Brown sugar syrups are more acidic, and less likely to crystalize. Of course they all will eventually crystalize if you get enough water out.
You might want to at least boil the water for 10 minutes or so. You won't need very much to keep it from crystalizing. You might also heat the bottle of syrup up at the same time. Maybe in the pot of water you are boiling.
Honey will do the same thing, and a reheating and a little bit of boiling water will uncrystalize it for some time. Eventually all heavy sugar syrups seem to crystalize, unless they are something like Karo high fructose corn syrup. Maybe it's just the nature of the larger sugar molecules.
A little added acid like lemon juice will also help. Brown sugar syrups are more acidic, and less likely to crystalize. Of course they all will eventually crystalize if you get enough water out.
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No, you can't. If it is crystallizing it means you got it too hot when you're boiling it. I believe the sugar crystals will eventually propigate in the fresh sap you add. What you did is to heat it past past the approximately 219F that is the temperature at which the syrup turns to sap. At least that's the temperature here in west Michigan. The most certain way to tell if maple sap has become maple syrup is to use a hydrometer. A hydrometer measures the amount of sugar in the syrup. When the sap reaches 66.9% sugar, it is then maple syrup.
I don't do syrup every year, roughly every 5 or so years. I usually get about 4-6 gallons of syrup from 7-8 very productive trees. I 've been doing it for a little over 30 years. I've never used a hydrometer myself, I've always gone by temperature and appearance. Last year I screwed up, call it “distracted boiling,” and let a batch I was finishing go too long. When this happens (ok, it wasn't the first time) I just continue boiling it and turn it into maple candy. I turned my over boiled syrup into 5 1/2 pounds of maple “food of the gods.” Last year I got the candy plus 6 gallons of syrup.
This is the basic recipe I used. If you don't have molds just pour it into a shallow wax paper lined cookie tray, let it cool a bit, then score it (an inch or so) with a knife. When it's cool it will break into nice chunks. The important step is #2, you have to really stir it to make it nice and creamy. Good luck!
Pure Maple Candy Recipe
No, you can't. If it is crystallizing it means you got it too hot when you're boiling it. I believe the sugar crystals will eventually propigate in the fresh sap you add. What you did is to heat it past past the approximately 219F that is the temperature at which the syrup turns to sap. At least that's the temperature here in west Michigan. The most certain way to tell if maple sap has become maple syrup is to use a hydrometer. A hydrometer measures the amount of sugar in the syrup. When the sap reaches 66.9% sugar, it is then maple syrup.
I don't do syrup every year, roughly every 5 or so years. I usually get about 4-6 gallons of syrup from 7-8 very productive trees. I 've been doing it for a little over 30 years. I've never used a hydrometer myself, I've always gone by temperature and appearance. Last year I screwed up, call it “distracted boiling,” and let a batch I was finishing go too long. When this happens (ok, it wasn't the first time) I just continue boiling it and turn it into maple candy. I turned my over boiled syrup into 5 1/2 pounds of maple “food of the gods.” Last year I got the candy plus 6 gallons of syrup.
This is the basic recipe I used. If you don't have molds just pour it into a shallow wax paper lined cookie tray, let it cool a bit, then score it (an inch or so) with a knife. When it's cool it will break into nice chunks. The important step is #2, you have to really stir it to make it nice and creamy. Good luck!
Pure Maple Candy Recipe
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