Year: 2017

Showing 1 – 10 of 48 resources

Assessment of the Flavor of Syrup Produced with High-Brix RO Systems

Concentrating sap with reverse osmosis (RO) substantially increases the efficiency and profitability of processing maple sap into syrup by reducing the amount of fuel and time required to complete concentration to syrup density in the evaporator, with gains proportional to the level of sap pre-concentration. Because most flavor development in maple syrup occurs through nonenzymatic browning reactions as sap is processed with heat in the evaporator, it has often been speculated that reduced evaporator processing time resulting from the use of RO might also result in perceptible impacts on syrup flavor. However, a series of controlled experiments conducted at the University of Vermont Proctor Maple Research Center using the same sap processed to different levels with RO determined that concentrating sap up to 21.5% prior to boiling in standard maple evaporators had no substantive effects on syrup composition or flavor.

Publication:
Maple Syrup Digest
Date:
December 1, 2017

Ask Proctor

Why are my tapholes leaking and what can I do about it? (Part 1) There are often several issues involved in leaking tapholes, and sometimes the applied remedy itself turns out to be the actual problem.

Publication:
Maple Syrup Digest
Date:
December 1, 2017

Food Safety on the Farm: Good Agricultural Practices and Good Handling Practices & Packing Operation Sanitation

Good agricultural practices (GAPs) and good handling practices (GHPs) encompass the general procedures that growers, packers, and processors of fresh fruits and vegetables should follow to ensure the safety of their product. GAPs usually deal with preharvest practices (i.e., in the field), while GHPs cover postharvest practices, including packing, storage, and shipping. This factsheet covers GAPs relating to packing operation sanitation.

Date:
November 1, 2017

Food Safety on the Farm: Good Agricultural Practices and Good Handling Practices & Worker Health and Hygiene

Good agricultural practices (GAPs) and good handling practices (GHPs) encompass the general procedures that growers, packers, and processors of fresh fruits and vegetables should follow to ensure the safety of their product. GAPs usually deal with preharvest practices (i.e., in the field), while GHPs cover postharvest practices, including packing and shipping. This factsheet covers GAPs and GHPs relating to worker health and hygiene. There are seven other UF/IFAS Extension factsheets in the ÔFood Safety on the FarmÕ series that focus on specific aspects of the GAPs program and how they relate to Florida crops and practices.

Date:
November 1, 2017

Sanitary Design and Construction of Food Equipment

To ensure safe food and adequate sanitation programs, the equipment used for processing and handling food products must be designed, fabricated, constructed, and installed according to sound sanitary design principles. This ensures the equipment can be adequately cleaned and sanitized, and that surfaces are resistant to daily exposure to corrosive food products and cleaning/sanitizing chemicals. Equipment that does not meet basic sanitary design principles, or is installed or used improperly cannot be adequately cleaned and sanitized.

Date:
November 1, 2017

Understanding the relationship between tree size and yield

There are several important factors that affect the yield of sap from trees during the production season. One relationship that it sometimes overlooked is the one between tree size and yield.

Publication:
Maple News
Date:
November 1, 2017

How to Identify and Control the Sugar Maple Borer

The sugar maple borer, Glycobius speciosus (Say), a long-horned wood boring beetle, is a common pest of sugar maple (the only known host) throughout the range of the tree. Although borer-caused mortality is rare, infestations lead to value loss through lumber defect caused by larval galleries, discoloration, decay, and twisted grain.

Date:
October 12, 2017

Potential Plastic Residues in Maple Sap and Syrup Following Isopropyl Alcohol Sanitation of the Tubing System

In recent years isopropyl alcohol (IPA) sanitation was proposed after the sugar season to significantly reduce the microbial load and start the next sugar season with a sanitized system. This study was conducted to evaluate the potential leaching of chemical compounds found in plastic polymers used in maple sap collection system tubing.

Publication:
Maple Syrup Digest
Date:
October 1, 2017

Gravity Filtering: Simple tools and techniques for filtering small batches of maple syrup

Many producers use a filter press, which uses a pressure pump to push the syrup through a series of metal plates and frames, separated by single-use pieces of filter paper which capture the particles and result in crystal-clear syrup. For smaller producers, however, using paper and cloth filters and letting gravity pull the syrup through is an acceptable and far less expensive option.

Publication:
Maple Syrup Digest
Date:
October 1, 2017