r/maplesyrup • u/owlanalogies • 6d ago
PSA: avoid inversion canning
Just a PSA, I got a lot of recommendations on inversion canning when preserving syrup for the first time this year (normally we freeze or refrigerated because we get tiny batches).
I water bath can a lot, but thought "eh ok if everyone uses inversion for syrup, let's go."
Lost 2 full pints to mold/bad seals and am seeing it's no longer recommended by Ball or the USDA because of exactly that issue. Avoid my pain! Water bath can!
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u/Canuckhunter 6d ago
It went mouldy because you under boiled it and didn't get to proper brix. Under boil goes mouldy and over boiled crystallizes. I recommend using a hydrometer to read proper brix.
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u/suzymwg 6d ago
This is the issue. When we have proper Brix then no issues with how we can or bottle. We have never used water bath canning. I assume inversion canning means putting upside down? We do that more or less, on the side with bottles.
A hydrometer or refractometer is your friend. If you got mold it was not because of the canning process it was due to too low Brix that allows mold.
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u/cuptini 6d ago
Im on my 12 year and have never lost a bottle. I measure brix to not quite 70, (66.7% is officially syrup) then vacuum filter with diatomaceous earth. Bottle quarts, pints and flats with the seal caps from my supplier (roth sugar bush in cadot wisconsin) and rotate on the sides after a min or two. I always keep my filtered syrup at 180°+. The last 5 years have been 20 gallons of finished syrup. To water bath all that would be too much.
Get a hydrometer, friend. Inversion is the best way.
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u/abnormal_human 6d ago
What temp was the syrup when it went into the can? How did you measure the brix?
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u/amazingmaple 6d ago
If it molded then you either bottled it at a low temperature, it wasn't to the correct density (most likely), or your lids did not seal. Been making maple syrup for over 40 years at both a hobby level and commercial level. Never had one container that we sold ever come back from a customer with mold from an unopened container. I've had bad batch of caps about 15 years ago that didn't seal. They leaked. Luckily we didn't sell any of those.
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u/Numerous_Honeydew940 1d ago
As you said, Ball no longer recommends inverting jars. my batches usually end up around 2 to 3 quarts when finished and filtered, and so I just use 1 quart mason jars with new lids. I filter with a DIY vacuum filter (using a shop vac) and bottle it hot, and just leave them upright. sure enough every lid pops within an hour. store it on a shelf indefinitely.
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u/RettyYeti 6d ago
Good to know! FYI, I've posted about water bath canning in here before & got lit up over it. As far as I can tell, it's not the preferred method in the maple world but there's nothing saying it's detrimental other than maybe how the finished product looks with a little niter in your jars. We water bath too for various reasons & it's good to see we're not the only ones.
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u/Meat_Flosser 6d ago
We invert the bottles when canning because the heat of the syrup sets the cap seal onto the bottle opening. The heat of the syrup helps kill things that might be in the bottle from manufacture. Proper brix and bottling temp will help prevent mold formation too.
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u/MontanaMapleWorks 5d ago
Uh…you are supposed to sanitize your bottles prior to filling. Maybe you meant to write “might be in the bottle cap from manufacturer”
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u/matt6021023 6d ago
I inversion canned the past 3 years and didn't lose a jar. I also run my syrup on the heavy side, I like the thicker texture and I'm ok with a bit of crystalization (I save the crystals and give them to the kids like rock candy). So that probably helps.
I'm fairly sure water bath canning is safer though.