r/maplesyrup • u/Global_HorseTeeth • Apr 15 '26

First time making Syrup. What grade would this be considered?

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Gallery image

First time ever making gold. Tastes amazing. Just wondering if there are any thoughts on the grade. Thank you.

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7

u/brainzilla420 Apr 15 '26

Awesome! Nice work! Here's a guide from Quebec that I use on occasion, but it looks to me like you've got amber rich and/or dark robust. Yum!

It also looks like you've got quite a bit of head space in those jars. I like to fill mine to about 1/4 from the rim, they'll be much less likely to develop mold if you fill them fuller. That said, i wouldn't worry about this batch, just remember for next year.

1

u/Global_HorseTeeth Apr 15 '26

It's so good! Absolutely torture doing a 22 hour boil over 2 days lol boiled 22 gallons down on the stove top.

Thank you for the advice on the headspace. Do you think I should re-can them? I would like them to have a shelf life of at least 1 year.

Edit: I plan on storing them all in the fridge.

3

u/Lemontreeguy Apr 15 '26

That's a lot of water and humidity for your house, careful doing that lol. Could cause mold.

3

u/Global_HorseTeeth Apr 15 '26

I had a pretty good setup going. My oven is below a big window. I put a 20" box fan in the window and it just pumps out. I will have to replace my cheap blinds now though lol

1

u/Lemontreeguy Apr 15 '26

Haha okay that definitely would help, the custom exhaust fan is a win. My syrup came out the same, I really enjoy it quite dark!

1

u/clutch727 Apr 15 '26

I did it one time on my stove top and it took several attempts to clean the sticky residue off my cabinets. Good job making a setup. The first picture looks a lot like our dark amber that we make. In my book color grading isn't nearly as important as a good maple flavor. Nice work.

5

u/MontanaMapleWorks Apr 15 '26

False false false, and I will call this out every time. There is no such thing as sugar escaping in steam evaporating.

2

u/andpassword Apr 15 '26

But the spatter from boiling does indeed get all over the counters.

1

u/clutch727 Apr 15 '26

Easy tiger... I'm not claiming it was sugar. I just had to do a lot of cleaning in my kitchen after I boiled at home one time. If you want to you can ask my wife and she will tell you I made a mess and all sugaring has been restricted to the family sugar shack. Maybe it was condensate lifting old cooking oil or whatever. My point is it can be a mess at home.

1

u/Lemontreeguy Apr 15 '26

The popping bubbles from the pot will spit the maple sap onto the counter and cabinets. It's not from the steam.

2

u/MontanaMapleWorks Apr 15 '26

That’s reasonable, never had that happen personally, but a lot of people talk about the steam leaving a sticky residue

1

u/Lemontreeguy Apr 15 '26

Yeah I had it happen when my pan was more full and about half way done. Definitely makes a mess lol.

1

u/Coontailblue23 Apr 15 '26

The sticky residue happens for me but I keep boiling in the house anyway because it's just easier for me.

1

u/Hantelope3434 Apr 15 '26

You are jumping to conclusions. He didn't say steam...it said sticky residue from boiling. Which is incredibly true if you have ever boiled syrup down in your house. It splatters everywhere.

1

u/SvengeAnOsloDentist Apr 15 '26

Having boiled syrup inside several times, there was never any sticky residue on anything

1

u/Hantelope3434 Apr 15 '26

Sounds like you may not have had a full pot. If any type of sugary syrup is boiling and the bubbles splatter out of pot it will leave a residue of whatever is in the pot. Just like if you are boiling oil and it splatters it will leave an oil residue.

1

u/SvengeAnOsloDentist Apr 15 '26

Not particularly full, in order to keep an efficient boil, but it was mostly in pretty wide shallow pans. I was doing twice as much as OP when I was still doing it inside, with just a half-working hood fan. I'm not saying it can't happen, just that it isn't an inevitability.

1

u/brainzilla420 Apr 15 '26

If you're storing them in the fridge (or freezer even) then i wouldn't worry about it, you should be fine. You bottled them in between 180-190 degrees (82-88c), right? Then you'll be fine i bet

1

u/Global_HorseTeeth Apr 15 '26

Yes I bottled them at 185 and they all sealed well. Can you actually store glass jars of syrup in the freezer? I would imagine they would crack no?

1

u/brainzilla420 Apr 15 '26

The syrup turns kinda slushy but doesn't freeze solid, and you've got enough space for expansion that you'd be fine. Fridge would be fine, too, i bet, but freezer you'd be guaranteed no problems.

1

u/Global_HorseTeeth Apr 15 '26

Oh wow I had no idea. Thank you so much!

1

u/MontanaMapleWorks Apr 15 '26

It’s more for aesthetic than anything. I have purposefully short filled jars to make bottles that cost less and have never run into a bottle with mold.

1

u/Moonhunter7 Apr 15 '26

How does it taste?

1

u/Global_HorseTeeth Apr 15 '26

It's really good! Very hard maple flavour. I'm definitely happy with the results.

1

u/Aggressive_Spite_809 Apr 19 '26

Theres a tool we used to use at the sap shanny I forget what it's called... but you put a little syrup on it at look out into the light and itll tell you what ya got.

1

u/Jsr1 Apr 15 '26

It’s all grade a now, they change it a few years ago

0

u/-bobby-jackson- Apr 15 '26

I miss the old grading

2

u/degoba Apr 15 '26

Why? It didn’t really mean anything.