Showing 91 – 100 of 106 resources
Because of a new approach to using nano-silver, the fact that PFA has been banned, and the desire to control microorganisms in maple sap collection systems, the University of Vermont Proctor Maple Research Center investigated the use of spouts and tubing containing antimicrobial nano-silver for suitability for increasing maple sap yield.
The goal of this project was to find alternative ways to reduce microbial contamination of tapholes. One approach we investigated was to use a check-valve to prevent microbial contamination of tapholes by preventing backward movement of sap from the tubing system into the taphole.
The objective of this study was to examine several possible remediation techniques to determine which, if any, was most effective in reducing or removing metabolism off-flavor from maple syrup.
The use of air injection technology in the maple industry can be defined as: the forced introduction of air through a series of perforated pipes submerged in the boiling sap in the front and /or back pan of a maple syrup evaporator. Several studies conducted in recent years have investigated aspects of the use of air injection technology in the process of maple syrup production.
Research on metabolism off-flavor in maple syrup at the University of Vermont Proctor Maple Research and Extension Center (PMREC) had two main objectives. The first was to identify the primary compound(s) responsible for metabolism off-flavor in maple syrup. Once the responsible compound or compounds were identified, measures to reduce or remove the off-flavor from finished maple syrup could be investigated. Thus, the second main objective was to determine whether a technique could be found that maple producers and packers might employ to effectively remediate the flavor, and thereby increase the economic value, of metabolized maple syrup.
Questions of how vacuum affects maple sap, syrup and trees have existed for many years, and these issues are perhaps more important today than ever before due to the increasing use of collection systems that can achieve very high levels of vacuum. This article will describe recent research performed at the University of Vermont Proctor Maple Research Center that was designed to answer questions about high vacuum.
Knowing the temperature in the evaporator is an essential part to making quality pure maple syrup. This article will discuss observations of temperature in each partition and how the front and back pans temperatures are influenced by the draw off events.
The “small” spout, 19/64″ or 5/16″ in diameter, has been widely available to maple producers since the mid to late 1990’s as a “healthy” alternative to the traditional 7/16″ spout. While now in general use by producers in some regions, particularly those collecting sap by vacuum, the utility of these smaller spouts is still questioned by many sugarmakers, particularly those collecting sap by gravity. This article will review several studies conducted at the University of Vermont Proctor Maple Research Center comparing 7/16″ spouts with small spouts (for the purposes of this article, 5/16″, and 19/64″ will be considered equally as “small” spouts).
Although many analyses of the chemical composition of maple syrup have been conducted, relatively little information exists on the differences in composition of the individual syrup grades. As a first step in acquiring this information we performed a study to determine the characteristic sugar composition of each maple syrup grade.
A great deal has changed since the 1960s and 1970s in terms of maple production and recommended practices, especially given the introduction of the new polyethylene tubing formulations and new types of spouts. Consequently, we are occasionally asked whether lateral lines in gravity tubing installations should be vented. As a result of these questions, we compared sap yield from standard non vented (closed) 5/16″ lateral lines alongside a vented 5/16″ installation under gravity conditions.