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Off-flavors in maple syrup: metabolism

One of the many off-flavors that can be found in maple syrup is metabolism, often compared to the taste of wet cardboard or ‘woody.’ This article explains metabolism and how to identify it.

Planning for the Future of your Sugaring Operation

With an aging farmer population, including maple producers, more attention must be paid to how farmers can successfully transition out of active farming. At the same time, burgeoning interest in farming from young (and not so young) folks – many of whom do not come from farm backgrounds – offers creative transition opportunities. Older farmers can arrange for the continuing productive use of sugarbush and other productive lands.

Planning Your Maple Operation

Joe Polak from Maple Hollow discusses how to plan a modern maple syrup operation from the ground up.

Preventing mould in packed maple syrup

Preventing mould in packed maple syrup can be a challenge. Cold-packing syrup usually guarantees mould will grow in bottled containers and can impart off-flavour in the syrup. Maple researchers at the University of Maine and at Carleton University in Ontario are investigating whether current hot packing recommendations require refinement to preserve quality and prevent mould in syrup.

Procedures for Neutralizing Maple Wash Water

Wash waters resulting from the use of cleaning chemicals for reverse osmosis (RO) membranes and evaporator pans are often strongly basic or acid, and should be neutralized before disposal in order to comply with Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation regulations. These instructions for neutralizing maple wash water will allow you to modify your used maple cleaner to a safe pH range.

Processing Maple Syrup with a Vapor Compression Distiller: An Economic Analysis

A test of vapor compression distillers for processing maple syrup revealed that: (1) vapor compression equipment tested evaporated 1 pound of water with .047 pounds of steam equivalent (electrical energy); open-pan evaporators of similar capacity required 1.5 pounds of steam equivalent (oil energy) to produce 1 pound of water: (2) vapor compression evaporation produced a syrup equal in quality to that from a conventional open-pan evaporation plant; and (3) a central plant producing 8,000 gallons of syrup per year should yield a return of 16 percent on investment. Increasing annual product output should increase the return on investment.

Proctor Maple Research Center Update 

Dr. Tim Perkins, Director of UVM’s Proctor Maple Research Center, shares a review of the past year at PMRC and a collection of recent findings on topics related to sap and syrup production.

Proctor Maple Research Center Update: Investigating the Effects of Sap Processing Equipment and Techniques on Maple Syrup Chemistry & Quality

A new research facility designed and dedicated to the study of the effects of sap processing equipment and techniques on the chemistry and quality of maple syrup is being constructed at the UVM Proctor Maple Research Center. This facility will allow researchers to evaluate the differences in maple syrup due to changes in sap processing equipment, including reverse osmosis, evaporators, and other evaporation equipment (steam-away, air injection units, etc.).

Producing Syrup from Black Walnut Trees in the Eastern United States

Though it is not well known, all species of walnut (Juglans spp.) produce a sweet sap that can be boiled down into valuable syrup. There is a well-established resource of black walnut (Juglans nigra) trees throughout eastern North America that could be utilized for syrup production to complement existing sugaring operations.