MAPLE SIRUP PRODUCERS MANUAL 



105 



Figure 120. — Packaging sugar candies, a popular confec- 

 tion often used as one of the items in a gift package. 



the humidity of the room in which they ai'e 

 stored. In a room of low humidity, they will lose 

 moisture. The dried-out areas will appear as 

 white spots and will become stonelike in hard- 

 ness. If the humidity is high, the candies will 

 take up moisture, and moist areas or droplets of 

 water will appear on the surface. The droplets 

 become dilute sugar solutions and are good 

 sites for mold growth. The humidity of the 

 packaging room can be controlled by a de- 

 humidifier and air-conditioner. Never package 

 on rainy days (62). 



The best type of wrapper for the outside of 

 the candy package is one that is moistureproof, 

 such as metal foil or wax-coated paper. A mois- 

 tureproof wrapper helps to prevent changes in 

 the candies during storage. Unfortunately, 

 most wrappers are not completely moisture- 

 proof.. They reduce the gain or loss of moisture 

 but do not prevent it, especially if the candies 

 are stored under excessively high or low mois- 

 ture conditions or for long jieriods. Some pack- 

 ers of maple confections obtain longer storage 

 by puncturing the moistureproof wi-apper with 

 many small holes to permit the package to 

 breathe. 



Maple S|u-«'iul 



Maple cream, described on page 98, is not 

 stable when stored at room temperature be- 

 cause saturated sirup (mother liquor) tends to 

 separate from the cream and cover it with a 

 sirup layer. 



A new semisolid dextrose-maple spread has 

 been developed that prevents this separation of 

 sirup. Also, it requires no heating or stirring. 



The process for making the spread consists of 

 three simple steps: (1) The sirup is concentrated 

 by heating it to a density of 70P to 7S Brix; (2) 

 part of the sucrose is converted to invert sugar 

 by enzymatic hydrolysis; and (.3) the dextrose 

 (part of the invert sugar) is ciystallized to form 

 a semisolid spread. 



Standard-density maple sirup (66° Brix) is 

 heated to about 1(F F. above the boiling point of 

 water (approximately 7(? Brix), and then cooled 

 to 15(F or below (as tested with a thermometer). 

 While the sirup is still fluid, invertase is added 

 at the rate of IV2 ounces per gallon of sirup and 

 thoroughly mixed with the sirup by stiiTing. 

 The enzyme will be inactivated and hence inef- 

 fective if it is added while the sirup is too hot 

 (above 16(F F.). The enzyme-treated sirup is 

 stored at room temperature for 1 or 2 weeks. At 

 first, ci-ystals (sucrose) appear, but they do not 

 form a solid cake, and as the hydrolyzing action 

 of the enzyme progresses, the crystals dissolve. 

 The result is a crystal-free, stable, high-density 

 sirup (70° to 78° Brix) containing a large 

 amount of invert sugar. This sirup will remain 

 clear at ordinary temperatures. Because of its 

 high density, it makes an excellent topping for 

 ice cream and sirup for waffles or pancakes. 



Maple spread is made by seeding this high- 

 density sirup with dextrose crystals. A crystal- 

 line honey spread, a stock grocery item, is a 

 convenient source of dexti'ose crystals for seed- 

 ing the first batch. For additional batches, crys- 

 tals from previously made lots of the maple 

 spread may be used as seed. The dextrose 

 crystals are added at the rate of 1 teaspoon per 

 gallon of high-density sirup and thoroughly 

 mixed with the sirup. After mixing, the sirup is 

 poured into packages and set aside at a temper- 

 ature of 55° to 60P F. Within a few days a 

 semisolid spread forms. It is stable at tempera- 

 tures up to 8(F F. If refingerated, it will keep 

 indefinitely without any sirup separating. 



Maple spread eliminates the laborious hand 

 beating or the expensive machine beaters re- 

 quired for making maple cream. Furthermore, 

 the yield of maple spread j^er gallon of sirup is 

 higher, because it is made from sirup concen- 

 trated to between 7(F and 78° Brix, whereas 



