[Syrupmakers] White sediment in sugar cane syrup

[Tracy Baudoin (tbaudoin)]

Louis, Ben& Dianne, etc,
I believe the general answer is that yes, this is a form of Niter and/or sugar sand as previously mentioned.  I do not believe it is caused by cooking too fast, but possibly a combination of nitrogen, magnesium and/or cooking to the sugaring point.

Fertilization late in the season or having land high in nitrogen and other minerals may cause some of it, but I’ve found that the point you take the fire off and the speed of decreasing the temp. may be of more importance.  For instance, some varieties of cane have a higher sucrose content in the juice.  Cooking by time or temperature can lead to variations in final sugar content of the syrup.  That’s why most of us use either Baume’ or Brix scales to determine when to take the syrup off the fire.  Personally, I take my syrup off at 35 Baume’ and use a honey gear pump to take it out of the pan as quickly as possible.  The end temp can vary as much as 4 degrees F by doing it this way (outside temp and humidity also play a big role), but the sugar content is always the same.  This also means that the Baume’ reading at about 75F ends up being around 40 Baume’, which is close to when sugaring begins.  Filtering hot syrup right off the pan won’t help, because the sediment (minerals and sugar crystals) haven’t formed yet.  They only solidify as the syrup cools.

To avoid sediments in my bottles, I pump the juice from the boiler into a 25 gal. settling tank and let it cool for at least 3 days.  Then when I bottle, I loosely tighten the caps and put the bottles in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes, similar to canning vegetables, and tighten the lid completely when I take them out.
This process doesn’t always eliminate sediments, but it reduces it a great deal.  Doing it this way, I mark the first and last bottles of each batch to monitor the amount of sediment closely, as these are most susceptible to sedimentation once the syrup cools.

I also have access to a honey filter press that also works VERY well in removing sediments, but approximately 5 gallons of product remains in the press at the end of each pass.  This wouldn’t be a big deal, except that diatomaceous earth (DE) needs to be added to make the press work properly, and there is no easy way to get all the syrup out of the filter at the end of the pass, without the DE.  Unfortunately, a filter press is extremely expensive and probably not for most of us on this list because of these two issues.  Because of these issues, I rarely use the filter press.  I have experimented by saving the last 2 gallons of each batch (I do 20-25 X 100 Gallon batches of juice  a yr) in the bottom of the settling tank in a 55 gallon drum and running it as a single batch at the end of the season through a filter press, but I haven’t had much luck determining the right amount of DE to add to the syrup to get even 10 galls through it without it clogging up.  The rest gets used for deer feed additives ;-(

If anyone out there can tell us of a surefire way to completely remove sediments (aside from a filter press) I’m all ears!
Tracy Baudoin
Houma, LA

From: Syrupmakers [mailto:syrupmakers-bounces at syrupmakers.net] On Behalf Of Louis K. Broussard Sr.
Sent: Monday, April 04, 2016 8:20 AM
To: A list for sorghum and cane syrupmakers <syrupmakers at syrupmakers.net>
Subject: Re: [Syrupmakers] White sediment in sugar cane syrup

I experienced sediment with cane syrup.  I am thinking I cooked it too fast and too vigorously?  What do you say?

On Saturday, April 2, 2016 6:06 PM, BenNet Personal <ben at benparrish.net<mailto:ben at benparrish.net>> wrote:

I’ve been growing sugarcane and making syrup now for 3 years.

I have a question for anyone that has experienced the same situation as I.  After cooking the syrup and bottling it, it is a beautiful clear golden reddish liquid. After the bottled syrup cools, in a few days, there appears a whitish sediment in the bottom of the bottles.  It looks quite unsightly to anyone purchasing the syrup and is noticeable, since the syrup is so clear.  I have read online in maple syrup production it is called niter... and was told that it is the minerals settling out of the syrup.

I have talked to an elderly gentleman nearby and he has experienced the same thing in his syrup, but has no idea as to what causes this.

My question is this:  Surely someone else besides me has had this happen to their syrup productio.  If so, please advise me if there is anything I can do to eliminate it.

Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Ben & Dianne Parrish
Lake Church Rd
Metter, GA 30439
ben at benparrish.net<mailto:ben at benparrish.net>
On FaceBook:  “Parrish’s Old Time Sugar Cane Syrup”


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