Cleaning Maple Evaporator Pans

Heavy sugar sand deposits or Niter are likely to burn on the surface of the pans.  All sugar makers must be cleaning maple syrup evaporator pans daily in order to prevent these minerals burning.  If we don’t take the necessary steps each time we boil, we can ruin a batch of maple syrup.

Niter

As we concentrate the sugars of maple sap into syrup, we also concentrate all the minerals found in the sap.  Minerals that precipitate out of solution as the sap gets concentrated into syrup are called sugar sand, or niter. 

It is important that we don’t run the evaporator too long with heavy sugar sand deposits because some of the mineral deposits are likely to burn on the surface of the pans and make cleaning difficult. 

Excessive niter buildup can cause serious problems if not attended to on a regular basis.  If boiling for too long without taking the time to remove the niter, it can form a thick layer that minimizes heat transfer to the boiling sap, or, will burn on the pans and cause the syrup to become off-flavoured.  This is why we take the time and make the effort to clean our pans after every boil.

We have learned the importance of this step from reading – Source:  The Sugarmaker’s Companion.  An Integrated Approach to Producing Syrup from Maple, Birch, and Walnut Trees by Michael Farrell

There are two necessary steps to perform to reduce the amount of niter created in maple syrup. 

• First, we need to clean the front pans of the evaporator.
• Second, we need to be filtering maple syrup before bottling it.

Watch our video to get a good understanding of the steps involved with cleaning maple syrup evaporator pans to produce clear maple syrup and reduce niter build up. 

Instructions

Fill pans with clean water.  Fill it close to the last fold on the pan.

Add 1 gallon of Sani-Clean for every 100 gallons of water, heat the water and stop just before reaching the boiling point.

Let it rest for at least 3 hours or all night for a more aggressive wash.

Drain and rinse thoroughly with clean potable water.

Fill the pan to the last fold again with clean water and bring to a boil for 15 minutes to ensure that there is no more acid residues left. 

Drain and rinse thoroughly with clean water.

Sometimes, we begin this process with boiling water.  As a result, we may not need to use the sani-clean.  Sometimes, the boiling water adequately cleans the pans providing we wipe it down and the minerals lift off.

Learn how we filter maple syrup and understand why this is an important step to complete before bottling.

Above all, Maple Syrup takes time and passion for being outdoors. In other words, we take pride in our efforts and our products.

Learn more about Our Maple Syrup