After you’ve worked hard to make your own maple syrup, you’ve found that there is a sediment-like sand at the bottom of your maple syrup jar. This article will cover what it is, if it’s harmful, and what you can do to prevent it next time.
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It is such a rewarding feeling to harvest food for your family from the land. If you’ve made maple syrup, you know that feeling of pride as you look at the beautiful amber jars, filled with sweet nectar from maple trees, sitting on your counter. But then you notice something interesting: at the bottom of each jar, there is a sand or sediment at the bottom of the maple syrup. You start to wonder what it is and whether or not it is harmful for your family.
The sediment you see at the bottom of your maple syrup jar is a natural, highly soluble mineral called niter or sugar sand. This niter is naturally present in the sap, but it doesn’t become visibly present until after the water has been evaporated out of the sap. For most small maple syrup producers, the niter may reveal itself at the bottom of a cooled maple syrup jar or along the bottom of your evaporator pan.
Table of Contents
- How to Remove Sugar Sand
- Is Sugar Sand Safe to Eat?
- Conclusion
- Pin this post!
- Want more on maple syrup?
- Recipes with maple syrup
How to Remove Sugar Sand
The amount of sugar sand you have in your jars is determined by the year, the time in the season, and the trees that you tap. Commercially, having maple sugar, or niter, in the bottom of your maple syrup product is not ideal, and it could be the difference between if someone buys your product or someone else’s. In addition, there are laws and food safety regulations that require niter, or sugar sand, to be removed from products before it is sold. If you have a small batch maple syrup production, you may just want to remove the sugar sand just because it takes away the clear, pure appearance of your maple syrup. There are two main ways to remove sugar sand, or niter, from your maple syrup: pressure filtering or gravity filtering.
Pressure Filtering
Pressure filtering is an expensive, but effective, way to remove sugar sand from your maple syrup. This method is often only used by large-scale maple syrup producers, as the materials and items needed are an investment.
Pressure filtering involves adding something to the syrup called filter aid. Filter aid is the fossilized remains of aquatic organisms called diatoms to the syrup. Syrup is pumped into the filter press and then filtered through the filter plates and paper.
For small batch maple syrup producers, using a pressure filter will most likely not be the best way to filter maple syrup. Instead, you’ll more than likely decide to use gravity filtering.
Gravity Filtering
Gravity filtering is the easiest and traditional way of filtering maple syrup. To filter maple syrup in this way, you will use cloth filters to remove the sugar sand.
To really effectively remove the sugar sand, you’ll want to use multiple filters. The pre-filters can be used to remove the larger pieces of sugar sand, while the primary filter can remove the finer particles.
We have found that the best way to help the syrup flowing smoothly and quickly through the filters is to make sure that the filter is moist (but not wet) and that filters are replaced and/or cleaned as they get clogged. It is important not to ring the syrup through the filter, as this can compromise the filter’s ability to effectively remove the niter. Keeping the syrup hot throughout this process is also effective, as syrup will filter more slowly the cooler it gets.
To remove sugar sand from maple syrup before placing the maple syrup into jars, you can follow these steps:
- Set up your work space. You will want to have a large, tall pot to catch your finished syrup. Inside the pot, you should place your primary filter. On the inside of your primary filter, place 2 (or more) pre-filters. *Note: They do make a filter stand that is really helpful to have, especially if you are working by yourself. However, this process can be done with help just as easily. You can simply have one person hold the filters, while the other person pours the syrup (see step two below).
- Pour the syrup through the filters. If you do not have a filter stand, you will want an extra set of hands for this step. One person should hold the filters in place, while the other should begin pouring the syrup through the filters.
- Remove the clogged filters. As the sugar sand is filtered out of the syrup, the filters will begin to clog. This is why you have layered filters. When the first pre-filter begins to clog, lift it up and pour the syrup within it into the filter that had been resting below it previously. If the next filter becomes clogged, you can again repeat the process with another filter.
After the syrup has been successfully filtered, you can rinse your filter with hot water. Again, filters should not be rung out or twisted as this can compromise the fibers in the filters that prevent the sugar sand from passing.
Is Sugar Sand Safe to Eat?
Sugar sand, or niter, is safe to consume and is not harmful. It is safe to assume that the Native Americans and pioneers who made maple syrup in the early days did not filter out the sugar sand, as they wouldn’t have had the tools and equipment to do so. We filter our syrup using the gravity filtering method, but even so, sometimes sugar sand will still appear in the bottom of our jars. This has never been an issue for us, and once you know it’s safe and natural, it probably won’t be for you either.
Conclusion
While sugar sand, or niter, isn’t visually appealing, the fact that it is natural and harmless will hopefully bring reassurance to you if you notice it in your homemade maple syrup jars. Sugar sand or not, your maple syrup will still taste delicious slathered across some pancakes on a Saturday morning!
Pin this post!
Want more on maple syrup?
Check out these posts:
- TOP TEN THINGS TO DO THE MONTH BEFORE MAPLE SYRUP SEASON
- MOLD IN MAPLE SYRUP: WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?
- HOW TO START WITH SMALL BATCH MAPLE SYRUP MAKING
- FINISHING MAPLE SYRUP: HOW TO KNOW YOUR MAPLE SYRUP IS DONE
- FOR EVEN MORE, CLICK HERE
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