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What is the difference in syrup grade?
Maple syrup must meet standards for purity. High quality pure maple syrup can be made only by the evaporation of
pure maple sap, and by weight may contain no less than 66 percent sugar (Brix). Maple syrup is classified according to its
color, which is a rough guide to flavor intensity. The darker the syrup, the stronger the flavors:
Grade A Light Amber - the lightest of the three classifications has a mild, delicate flavor.
Medium Amber - a bit darker with a fuller flavor.
Dark Amber - the darkest of the three grades has a stronger maple, caramel, and other
flavors.
Grade B - has the strongest flavor.
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Our SugarHousePatrick started maple sugaring with 100 taps as a hobby. After the first year
of small-scale sugaring, Patrick decided to invest in major equipment and expand his sugaring into
a commercial operation. Today, you can find Cronin's Maple Syrup in several restaurants and at
local shops and farm markets.
Our operation consists of a 4' x 12’ wood-fired
Leader Evaporator with a max-flu
pan and enhanced steam away. After the sap is collected and transported from our sugar bush to our
sugarhouse, the sap is pumped through a reverse-osmosis machine. Reverse-osmosis removes 75% of
the water from the sap. The concentrated sap then flows through a heat exchanger and into the
steam-away. The steam-away uses the heat from the steam of the flu pan below it to pre-heat and
evaporate the sap before it goes into the flu pan. From the flu pan, the sap flows into the syrup
pan where it is finished. As syrup is drawn-off, it is pumped into the filter press and stored in
40 gallon steel drums until bottling.
We have several sugar bushes in different locations in the Hudson Valley. In each
location we rely on mazes of plastic tubing to carry the sap to collection tanks. On the
sugarhouse property we use the scenic buckets on trees.
Members of New York State Maple Producers Associaion
www.nysmaple.com
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