# What is floating in my maple syrup?



## PrettyPaisley

I noticed this ribbon-looking stuff in a bottle I bought from Trader Joe's and freaked out and pitched the entire thing. Then I got some through the co-op and it was in large gallon jugs from a farm up north. A commercial farm but we bought directly through them so that did lend some credibility to these floaties.

Well, I just pulled my jug down to refill my smaller bottle that we use each day and a couple of reallllly long pieces of this light golden malleable "stuff" (for lack of a better word) slipped through the funnel. And then one really big one that wouldn't pass through the little hole. 

I straddle the fence on worrying about what might be tainting my real food-leaning more in the direction of it being normal and I should just eat it up - but then the mama in me worries I'm going to poison my children with some toxic maple syrup funk. 

FWIW-I did google and didn't get much. 

Thanks!


----------



## davel745

Sometimes the sugar crystallizes and it leaves a thin ribbon like thing in the maple syrup. If you warm it up a little it will reabsorb back into the syrup. Watch it and if it doesn't go away then maybe you could filter it using a nylon or cheese clothe folded a few times.

If it is swimming around then you may have a problem.


----------



## RonM

Go back to the farm up north and ask....or call.....


----------



## Harry Chickpea

Maple syrup can get a type of fungus or mold in it. It does get funky. I have had to toss some due to that. (This is a problem from within the past ten years or so - I never used to see it.)

Strain out what you can of the mold, put the slightly opened bottle in a room temp water bath on the stovetop, heat the pot slowly and let the water boil for at least 20 min, then screw the lid back down. Let it cool slowly and with the heating the mold should be killed.


----------



## Cliff

Ditto on the mold thing. Spores can get in when the jug is left open on the counter. Also can happen when kiddos sneak and get sips 

We don't use many sweeteners so it takes forever to go through a jug of maple syrup here. We keep it in the fridge since we had one get mold on it after about a year in the pantry - I did accidentally leave that jug open on the counter for about a day at one point though.


----------



## Dale Alan

Could very well be mold . Had this happen many times. You can put it in a pan,skim off whatever the funk is ,and bring it to a boil to kill things . I put it in glass after that. BTW,you can store it in the freezer,it will not freeze...pours right out of the jug. Lasts forever and no funky stuff will grow.


----------



## PrettyPaisley

Sounds like mold. I did find this:

Does Maple Syrup Go Bad?

Funny how it was not only in the TJs bottle but also the stuff from the co-op. :? Oddd ...... 

Looks like I'll be boiling some syrup today. I bought 3 gallons of the stuff and we aren't even half way through the first. Ugh. I've got the space to freeze it so that sounds like the right way to go. 

Thanks!


----------



## Plowpoint

You bought the good organic Maple Syrup by the sounds.

The cheaper versions are not organic and add some sort of chemical to it to keep the mold at bay. I am not really up on this, but I had to ask..."How come you call your Maple Syrup Organic", at a sugar shack nearby. "Isn't it all organic?", and that was the answer I got.


----------



## jd4020

I have a friend who helps with our local maple sirup grove and they give her about 5 gallons of sirup to use in recipes which she then shares with groups that visit the center. One year the bucket developed mother and turned into the most wonderful vinegar. She shared some with me and I use it for dressings. Not sure if what you have is mother or not. Just thought I'd share.
jd


----------



## Big Dave

Hey where is Max Lowe. I need to order this year.


----------



## sugarspinner

If it is mold, just skim it and reheat it to boiling. Occasionally syrup will get some "snot" looking stuff (actually resembles the mother in vinegar) that should be strained out and then reheated to boiling. Yes, freeze it for long-term storage. BTW this has nothing to do with organic or not. And, no, those of us who sell syrup not labeled "organic" are not adding something to it. It is illegal to sell adulterated maple syrup that is labeled Pure Maple Syrup. I do not know of any producer who adds anything to his syrup.


----------



## Warwalk

I wish I lived far enough north that I could experience Maple Syrup in quantities so large that they might spoil, lol! Here in the Southland maple syrup is such a treat... it's the kind of treat the likes of which a person gets a raise and figures they can dispense with the Mrs Butterworths... if only for a meal or two. It's ashame, as maple syrup is some of the most delicious shtuff on this planet, but down here we spread it out a teaspoon at a time, lol! (apart from this, we use Molasses, or if we don't have money for Molasses we use Sorghum)


----------



## Ravenlost

Mrs. Butterworth's has HFCS in it. We gave all that stuff up. I keep maple syrup, honey, molasses and, if I can find it, sorghum syrup, on hand. YUMMY!


----------



## ronbre

sometimes it also could be mold which can be strained or spooned off and is still safe


----------



## suitcase_sally

Harry Chickpea said:


> Maple syrup can get a type of fungus or mold in it. It does get funky. I have had to toss some due to that. (This is a problem from within the past ten years or so - I never used to see it.)
> 
> Strain out what you can of the mold, *put the slightly opened bottle in a room temp water bath on the stovetop, heat the pot slowly and let the water boil for at least 20 min, then screw the lid back down. * Let it cool slowly and with the heating the mold should be killed.


Don't do this if the bottle is plastic.

I bought several gallons from Max a couple of years ago and told him I couldn't use that much very quickly. He told me to put it in a pot and heat it to 180Âº. I then poured it into sterilized 12 oz. beer bottles and capped them. So far, it's good.


----------



## Harry Chickpea

I have never bought real maple syrup in a plastic container, but come to think of it I have seen it. Good point, thanks for pointing it out. ... The reason I was suggesting the water bath and doing the bottle that way is that it is more of a one step process and you don't have to be concerned with contamination of receiver vessels, bleaching containers, and so on.


----------



## gabbyraja

I bought a 5 gallon bucket this spring and it promptly grew mold. I boiled it all, then canned it in mason jars that we would use more quickly on an individual basis, but could still store unrefrigerated. So, we turned it into many, many quart jars that are shelf-stable, but were still able to buy in bulk at bulk price. Win/win.


----------

