Achieving the Right Syrup Density
Achieving a consistent and acceptable density level for maple syrup continues to be a challenge for many producers.
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Achieving a consistent and acceptable density level for maple syrup continues to be a challenge for many producers.
In late summer, 2008 Cintech Agroalimentaire was mandated by the IMSI and the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers to undertake research on their behalf that would serve as input to a potential uniform grading system destined for consumers of maple syrup. It was felt that such a grading system would not only be useful to producers and packers but would also help stimulate sales to customers.
What causes syrup to be light or dark at different parts of the season?
The objective of this study was to characterize the chemical composition of the five maple syrup grades, including their pH, conductivity, mineral and carbohydrate contents. In general, quantification of the range of chemical composition for each standard maple syrup grade will strengthen the existing knowledge of maple syrup chemistry.
Accurately measuring density is critical to the production of pure maple syrup. This article explores how impurities in syrup can affect the accuracy of tools used to measure density.
Maple syrup that is graded Canada Grade A and is sent or conveyed from one province to another or exported, or that is graded Grade A and is imported, must be labelled with any applicable colour class that is set out in Volume 7 of the Canadian Grade Compendium [325, SFCR].
There does not appear to have been a published comparison of the different grading kits subsequent to the research that introduced caramel standards followed by glass standards. Consequently, we undertook a comparison of most of the grading kits that are currently in use.
The three grades of maple syrup and a commercial table syrup containing artificial flavor and 3 percent pure maple syrup were evaluated by 1,018 women in four cities. The results indicate that differences in preference for flavor are related to how close the respondents are to a maple syrup-production region. Differences in preference among grades of pure maple syrup were slight and in reverse order of the quality implied by the Federal grading standard. Outside of the region of maple syrup production, differences in preference between pure maple syrup and the commercial table syrup were marked, and favored the commercial syrup.
Entering a maple syrup/confection contest is a fun activity that can lead to assurance that you are producing the highest quality product possible.
The Cornell Maple Program has developed a new, user-friendly tool to calculate how much of each syrup you would need to blend. This calculator will only help sugarmakers using digital light meters that give the percentage of light transmittance (%Tc) through your syrup.