Invert Sugar Oven Technique - Lid Or no lid?

[WinterWarlock]

After a difficult attempt making invert syrup on the stove, I've decided to pursue the oven technique. The plan is to bring my water to a boil on the stove, dissolve the sugar, then add the hot sugar solution to a baking dish and put in the oven at 240. Should I use a lid on my ceramic baking dish to avoid excessive evaporation? The evaporation loss after an extended period of time is going to be significant. Any thoughts?

 

[madscientist451]

Sounds like a great plan; maybe get an oven thermometer to check your temperature?

 

[day_trippr]

I'd go with the lid. Temperature, water and acid are all needed, and when I'm making invert sugar syrup on the stove top I have to add dribbles of water very frequently, so keeping the water in place seems indicated...

Cheers!

 

[WinterWarlock]

Awesome, I'm going to give it a shot. I've been loving the Ron Pattinson/Shut Up About Barclay Perkins recipes and having some invert around will allow me to brew more historical porters and stouts. Forgot to mention I'm using lactic acid, so I've got that aspect covered. Thanks for the input!

 

[kevin58]

Doesn't matter. I've made invert dozens and dozens of times and holding the temperature + time is far more important than worrying about evaporation.

 

[Kiln]

Thats what I imagined.

 

[z-bob]

I made some dark invert syrup in a pressure cooker last month. Open jars. It was fun, and it turned out good, but way more complicated than it should have been because I didn't know what I was doing. I'm going to try it again soon, cooking the sugar in a lot less water (80% sugar, 20% water, couple of mls of acid) just until it all dissolves, then transfer to canning jars *with* lids and process them at 15 pounds for an hour.

I don't think in an open pan, it matters whether or not you cover it. If there's excess water it's going to boil anyway until enough water is gone to raise the boiling point to 240.

 

[WinterWarlock]

Nice work z-bob, I enjoyed your thread. I may have to try your method as well. Sounds like it's pretty hard to fail at this, as long as you don't overshoot the temps.

 

[z-bob]

Wife is out of town today; I'm home early, and the pressure cooker makes her nervous. So I moved my schedule up. I'm making a batch today:

4 pounds of white granulated sugar
1 pound of distilled water (a pint should be close enough)
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Dump it all in a big saucepan (I think it was a 3 quart.) Cook and stir over medium heat until the sugar is all dissolved. It was about 225 degrees. It wasn't quite clear because it had little bubbles in it. I turned off the heat and put a lid on it while I got the jars ready.

Ladle into four hot 1 pint canning jars, dividing it evenly among the jars. Top up with water to leave about 1/2 inch of headspace (didn't take much, a tablespoon or so). Seal with 2-piece canning lids and process in a pressure canner at 15 pounds for an hour. I'm 10 minutes into this last step now. If the syrup isn't dark enough when I take them out, I might put them back and process a little longer.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

I'm 10 minutes into this last step now. If the syrup isn't dark enough when I take them out, I might put them back and process a little longer.

How did it turn out?

 

[z-bob]

How did it turn out?

After an hour it was just barely amber colored. So I put it back for another hour and it came out a nice reddish brown, but not as dark as my previous batch. I haven't tasted it yet; the jars are sealed.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

After an hour it was just barely amber colored. So I put it back for another hour and it came out a nice reddish brown, but not as dark as my previous batch. I haven't tasted it yet; the jars are sealed.

What level of invert were you targeting. As in #1, #2, #3, #4, Black Treacle, etc...?

Before you put it back, what level would you have guessed it to have achieved?

 

[z-bob]

What level of invert were you targeting. As in #1, #2, #3, #4, Black Treacle, etc...?

Before you put it back, what level would you have guessed it to have achieved?

Before I put it back? It was just a little lighter than Golden Syrup. After the second hour, #2 or #3, maybe somewhere in-between. It's not an ingredient I'm really familiar with so it's hard to put a number to it. I'm just testing a new process and hoping I get something usable.