When you want to get a perfect accompaniment for your soft and warm waffle, your maple syrup will be of great help because it is very delicious. Traditionally maple syrup is produced in the area of North-East of North America. There is nowhere else that it is produced in. Maple syrup comes from maple trees by concentrating maple sap from the trees. The result is to get a rich and distinct flavor loved by many everyone.
Maple syrup (pure) is 100 percent natural and this makes its shelf life just like some other food items. You might need to extend the shelf life of your maple syrup even though you might feel huge to finish the whole container when you buy it.
One of the popular methods you can extend the quality and shelf life of some food items is by freezing them but the issue at hand is whether or not maple syrup can be frozen. Maple syrup doesn’t usually freeze but if you place your maple syrup inside your freezer, the shelf life can be extended for a longer period. This process will still keep the quality intact.
You should not expect your maple syrup to get solidly frozen, but it will turn very thick that it might expand inside the freezer. You are recommended to continue reading if you want to find out how maple syrup can be frozen. What we want to show you is the best method you can use to freeze it and still keep the flavor intact.
Freezing Maple Syrup
If you want to keep your maple syrup for a longer time, you can store it inside the freezer. You must, however, ensure that it has enough space to expand so that you can prevent mini-explosion after it has become frozen. It means that if you’re freezing it inside the original package or in your freezable container, there must be sufficient space at the top.
If you keep it properly inside the freezer, you must ensure you use it within a year. When you place your maple syrup inside the freezer, the natural process of deterioration that should happen to the quality, flavor, and color is usually slowed down. This will help the overall maple syrup quality to be preserved for a longer time.
Once you are ready to use your frozen maple syrup, you can slowly heat it inside your microwave for the consistency to be returned. The thickness gotten from the freezer will then be broken down. Another alternative is to remove your maple syrup and allow it to be overnight inside the refrigerator or leave it at room temperature for some of the thickness to be lost.
Storage Containers for Maple Syrup
Whenever you want to put your maple syrup inside the freezer, the best thing is to leave it inside the original pitcher. However, in case you have purchased a very large maple syrup portion, try to get it decanted into smaller jars or containers so that you can put it inside the freezer.
You should use glass jars because it works great in as much as you can finely place the jar inside the freezer. A glass jar will work just fine to freeze your maple syrup and still store it after you have taken it out of your freezer. If you use the glass jar, your maple syrup will be protected from moisture and oxygen that cause the taste and quality to deteriorate.
In case you don’t have a glass jar, pour your maple syrup inside the freezable plastic containers and ensure they are tightly sealed to keep any moisture or excess air from your maple syrup. You can also allow the containers to store your syrup after you remove them from the freezer.
It is your choice to use freezable plastic bags but you may find it messy by pouring maple syrup inside plastic bags before you put it inside your freezer and later remove it from there when you want to use it.
If, however, you only have a little to freeze, you can use a plastic freezer bag as your great option. Your maple syrup can be portioned into various freezer bags before you lay them flat over one another to save some space inside the freezer. It will give you an excellent option not to remove all your maple syrup at once when you only want to use a little.
Storing Maple Syrup
If your maple syrup is yet to be opened, you should keep it in a dark and cool place like the closet or cupboard. Even though you can indefinitely keep unopened maple syrup, you should still consume it within one year if it is inside the glass jar or six months if it is inside the plastic container.
Once you have opened your maple syrup, place it inside the refrigerator. If the maple syrup is a very large amount, consider freezing only half. You can use your maple syrup daily from the fridge but endeavor to finish it within some months. Maple syrup can also be dehydrated.
How Long Does Maple Syrup Last?
People usually think that their maple syrup can last indefinitely, but that is wrong. Once you have opened it, you have exposed it to oxygen and then there will naturally be a chemical reaction that will deteriorate the color, texture, and flavor. Mold will begin to appear on the bottles after a while and that will make it very dangerous to eat.
You can remove mold from your maple syrup by pouring it inside your pot and boiling it slightly. Once it starts to bubble, skim its surface and discard the skimmed surface. You can then transfer the remaining inside a clean, new container and then put it back inside the fridge. It is, however, not everyone that chooses to undergo this process because you may never be so sure how deep the mold has formed.
How To Tell If Maple Syrup Has Gone Bad
Most times, it is difficult to attain a point where your maple syrup will be bad but it is still limited in its lifespan. You will find it easy to know if your maple syrup got spoilt or not. The first thing you should watch out for is the formation of mold. You can deal with this by slightly boiling it and getting rid of the bad part. This is, however, not usually the best thing to do.
You will also notice a kind of off smell from the syrup. It can be a funny smell, sour, or yeasty. Any smell that is not in line with the normal golden goodness smell. You should discard it if you notice it. You may also notice some settled sediments when you check the base of your bottle but it doesn’t mean it has gotten spoilt, neither does it mean it is harmful.
The meaning is that it was not well filtered or it was bottled when it was still very hot. You may filter the sediments out if you don’t like it but you don’t have to. In case your maple syrup has a slightly off smell or the taste is not normal, discard it and get a new one.
Related Questions
Freezing Maple Syrup
Maple syrup will not actually get frozen but you can place it inside the freezer so that the quality and lifespan can be prolonged. It will not become frozen by placing it inside the freezer, but it will become thickened than the normal consistency. When you freeze maple syrup, the process of deterioration of taste, color, and quality are slowed down.
Ensure you keep it tightly sealed inside the container before placing it into your freezer. This will reduce the usual chemical reaction associated with maple syrup when you expose it to oxygen.
Do I need to refrigerate store-bought, imitation maple syrup?
Usually, imitation maple syrup is a constituent of normal corn syrup plus a little amount of natural or artificial maple syrup that is mixed to give you a very rich taste. Imitation syrups bought in a store are usually made using preservatives and it means that you can keep them for a long time at room temperature.
It is not compulsory to put the imitation syrups inside the fridge but you can do that to keep them safe. To prolong the shelf life, it is not compulsory to freeze them either because the preservative keeps them long enough before they become spoilt.
Can maple syrup be stored at room temperature?
If you leave it unopened, you can store it at room temperature. However, once you have opened it, the texture and taste will deteriorate a bit sooner than when you keep it inside the fridge. You are safer when you store your maple syrup inside the refrigerator and then get it used up within six months. The possibility of mold growing on the mold can also be quickened by storing it at room temperature.
