[note the updated instructions for removing buddy flavour]

This short season will be coming to a close soon for even our northern producers. Check out some new information pages available on the following end-of-season topics:

Buddy Syrup

Includes what buddy is, what causes it, and the results of some interesting research that could help you get rid of buddy syrup even after you’ve made it.

Before 2020, there has been no way to get rid of the buddy flavour in finished maple syrup. However, researchers at Centre ACER in Québec may have found a method. Before attempting it, remember that this is still new research and there is no guarantee that it will work for you. Make sure to try it on a small scale, such as in a 5L quantity, before expending too much time, fuel, and resources.

Here are the instructions if you’d like to try it for yourself:

• Boil 5L of buddy maple syrup for 2 hours at 104.5°C
• Continually add ultrapure or RO permeate water at a rate of approximately 76mL/minute to keep the boiling point and syrup concentration constant. It is better to maintain syrup at slightly higher Brix (above 66 but below 68.9) to prevent mould formation.
• Taste the syrup at the 60-minute mark; syrups with less buddy flavour may not need the full 2-hour treatment
• Store treated syrup for 12 months before re-taste-testing, in case the buddy flavour compounds re-form

Again remember that there is no guarantee that this method will work for you. However, I would be interested to hear if anybody tries it! You can email me (jenny.liu2@ontario.ca) with any findings.

Method adapted from Camara et al. 2019.

Cleaning Collection Equipment

Includes information on cleaning, sanitizing, and rinsing bucket and tubing systems (both gravity and vacuum). Syrup producers are tired after a trying season, but timely cleanup will be well worth your efforts.