# Survival > Foraging & Wild Edibles >  Maple Syrup 2011

## rwc1969

It's an addiction!

Here's last year's syrup thread. http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...63-Maple-syrup!

This year I'm stepping it up a notch.

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

Slideshow! should get updated as I add more photos.

http://s101.photobucket.com/albums/m...view=slideshow

Test firing the new evaporator!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a83Yv2m6HKQ

Tapping my first trees of the year!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Kb3mngkjS4

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

I put 12 taps in today, will be putting in more tomorrow. two cords of wood on the way and with any luck will be boiling by Friday.

----------


## OhioGrizzLapp

I do it all on a very small scale for self use and mostly for birch beer, syrup and sweeteners for home use. I am actually going to lessons on it all this coming weekend to see what I am doing right and wrong. The lessons are free and available here: 


Cleveland Metroparks
Our "History of Maple Sugaring" program starts today, weekends - Saturday, February 26 through Sunday, March 13 at Maple Grove Picnic Area in Rocky River Reservation, south of the nature center. 11am to 4:30pm. Free guided hikes thru the Sugarbush to show various sap-collecting methods, plus the Sugarhouse w/ sap boiling down to fresh maple syrup! Details, call 440-734-6660. Check the video of Tree Tapping Day, 
too.

http://www.clemetparks.com/events/Maple%20Sugaring.asp

The cleveland metro parks has been a godsend for me for all the free programs they have to teach self reliant living. I also teach rustic furniture making there to scout troops so they can have a fund making program that does not involve popcorn or cookies.

----------


## your_comforting_company

Glad to see the traditional skills stayin alive. Good work rwc! It's definately one I've been wanting to learn.
I was talking with a fellow the other day about an evaporator pan, say, 12 feet long, with bars that go side to side with a little gap at opposite ends (not sure I'm describing it very well) and as the sap made it from one end slowly to the other, it'd be syrup to go in jars. I believe he was talking about cane tho.

I believe Landmark Park has some stuff on that as well, and I'll be sure to learn more if I can remember to ask.

----------


## crashdive123

Looks like your set-up turned out excellent.  I had trouble envisioning it in the previous thread - probably due mostly to my lack of experience in the process.  As you get more and more into it, I can see you building a "sugar shack" around your evaporator.

----------


## Rick

Well, another excellent job. You're doing great not only in your skills but in the quality of the posts. More rep on your way!

----------


## Alaska Grandma

This is a great thread! I've always wanted to tap birch for syrup and plan on giving it a try this spring, so any information out there for this newbie is very welcome.

I know birch sap is 100:1 so it will be a lot different than maple. But even if I just get a little, or perhaps just make a thinner liquid for wine, mead, maybe for canning berries or just drinking will be super.

So who knows where to get the spels for tapping? All the places online are every expensive for just a few, so might have to try my hand at making something homemade. Any idea's? Or links to a site that may sell the "real deal" that won't cost me an arm and a leg?

Thanks, Grandma Lori

----------


## OhioGrizzLapp

I just use gutter spike spacers (the extruded ones, not the stamped and rolled with open seam ones) for the spels. Cut one end at a 45 degree angle (lightly deburr and sharpen the cut angle) and cut a V notch on the top side at the other end for the bucket handle. When you pound it in the hole you make FIRST by drilling (brace), use a cut down gutter spike (large nail) in the front of the home made spel and tap that in rather than tap on the spacer (spel) so it does not deform. They work great, they do not rust because they are aluminum and super cheap ... mine were 11 cents a piece in a box of 100.  

I only tap the birch to make home made birch beer, it takes both sap and root to make it right.

----------


## rwc1969

> ...I was talking with a fellow the other day about an evaporator pan, say, 12 feet long, with bars that go side to side with a little gap at opposite ends (not sure I'm describing it very well) and as the sap made it from one end slowly to the other, it'd be syrup to go in jars....


That's a divided pan, they use them for maple too, but they can be expensive.




> ... I had trouble envisioning it in the previous thread... As you get more and more into it, I can see you building a "sugar shack" around your evaporator.


I had trouble envisioning it too, changed my plans a hundred times, but once I got the tank in front of me I worked it out in a couple hours. The sugar shack is on the way, a canopy tent, lol. It should be enough to keep the rain off though.




> ... I've always wanted to tap birch for syrup and plan on giving it a try this spring, so any information out there for this newbie is very welcome...So who knows where to get the spels for tapping?...Thanks, Grandma Lori


I get my tree saver spiles from SugarBush Supplies Company here in Mason, MI. They have a website, just google it. The spiles are .44 cents I believe, I bought 30 and it was less than 15 dollars. You may be able to hang a bucket on them if it's small, but I run tubing. The tubing is 50 bucks for 500 feet, or you can buy buy the foot. The old fashioned spiles are expensive. 

I know some folks are tapping birch already, in southern England? I beleieve. Tapping is mostly a late winter event. Once true spring its it's pretty much over, might not be for the birches though. We don't have enough birch around here to tap. I hear it's minty!??

----------


## rwc1969

Bascoms and MapleGuys are two more fairly well respected websites for ordering maple supplies. I wanted to stay local if at all possible with the $$.

----------


## randyt

very nice set up. It's been years since I've tapped trees and made syrup. Now thanks to you I've been bitten by the bug again LOL. I'll be scrambling to make it happen. I have some tree saver taps coming and have a pan just about made at work. this weekend I'll tap some trees and see what happens.

----------


## rwc1969

The maple bug! LOL!

I finished up my storage tanks today, tapped 14 more maples, checked the other 12, stacked 2 face cords of wood, lugged 40 gallons of water back and forth to test the tanks for leaks and now I'm pooped. Not much in the way of sap yet, but the trees were running good today. Tomorrow it's splitting wood, and 4 more taps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ7Xv41zfv4

The tank could be used for other purposes besides maple.

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

----------


## crashdive123

Dang.  That's a pretty slick set-up you've made.

----------


## rwc1969

Thanks, although, my neighbor quickly pointed out that the long extended shutoff will not allow me to close my car door. Duh! I hadn't considered that. The funnel will come off, but the shutoff is sealed with teflon tape and if i remove it all the sap will come out. LOL! So, now I need to get a hose that will fit the shutoff. I'm getting two so that one can feed the evaporator directly from the big tank and the other will come out of the car to fill buckets.

If I could get my car up above the height of the picnic table I could get a long hose and gravity feed from the car tank right into the one on the table. I could strap the tank to the roof of the car to get it up, but it might look a bit odd going down the road, not to mention top heavy.  :Smile:

----------


## your_comforting_company

LOL. It's those little things that get us every time!! Believe me, I'm laughing with you!
Will the one with the shorter shut-off fit in the car?

----------


## rwc1969

Yes it will! It's in the car now and i bought 2 3/4" barbed fittings and some hose to run from the shutoffs. Everything is working good now and I can feed the steam pans directly from the big tank now. 

Also, I enlarged my firebox, made it deeper and brought the bricks up higher on the sides in hopes of getting a better boil with my rear pans. I can fit longer pieces of wood now, 24" plus and the flames should channel toward the pans better too.

I covered the tank on the picnic table up with snow to keep the stored sap cool and put the last 4 taps in today, just need sap to boil. I even got one of those canopy tents so I can boil in the rain...or snow...or freezing rain and snow, lol.

----------


## randyt

ya know, I think you have more snow there than we have up here at the tip of the mitt. who da thunk it.

----------


## rwc1969

We still have close to a foot, even after the melting. In February we got over 2 feet of snow, most of that was in a 2 week period, IIRC. But, rains's a comin'.

----------


## rwc1969

Built a new Sugar shack,  :Smile: , and gathered my first sap of the season.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKstTgzH9Hk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr8Uo8L4w_4

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

----------


## crashdive123

Good stuff.  I couldn't tell from the picture or the first video it the center pole on your tarp was sticking through a gromet or eyelet.  If not, and since it was kind of breezy, you may want to put a pad (folded up rag or t-shirt) between the pole and the tarp to keep it from tearing through.

----------


## rwc1969

Ya, it has a grommet, the pole has a plastic insert that fits through it, and on the other side, the top, you put a rubber grommet to hold it in and keep it from rising up I suppose. It's been raining here overnight and she's still holding. We're supposed to hit 50 tonight so the sap should be flowing real good today, I hope.

----------


## rwc1969

I spent all afternoon Saturday and into the evening making syrup. Everything went real good and I ended up with a gallon of the good stuff, 8 pints.

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

This is my bottling and filtering station, the kitchen table. Last year I used a mason jar, but these bottles are actually less expensive and easier to pour from. The pot on the right is my filter. I think I paid 20 bucks for the filter, 4 pre-filters, 4 stainless clips to hold the filters, and the nickel plated mesh basket to hold them, that's the long handle sticking out. It was a great investment and did a much better job than the cheesecloth I used last season. These filters can be used over and over for years too.

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

The sugar shack was like a sauna at times, but kept most of the rain and snow off me and out of the sap. It held up to 4" of snow overnight....barely.

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

I just kept feeding raw sap into the pans from left to right and it got progressively darker and thicker as I went.

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

This pan is getting somewhat close to being ready for finishing. If it got too far ahead of the other two pans I'd just add more raw sap directly to it.

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

I don't recall if I mentioned it already, but I use this big plate steel to cover the holes as the pans finish. I only have two pans left to finish in this pic. The sheet is big enough to cover the entire top of the evaporator, so I can fire it up with no pans at all and use it for heat or whatever else I like, a grill maybe.

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

I wanted to take more pics, but between the splitting of wood, stoking the fire, skimming the pans, adding sap, transferring sap, preventing boil over, and taking the few pics and vids I did, it was a lot of work and fairly fast paced. But, it was a lot of fun, should be doing it again this weekend.

That's pretty much it. Here's three vids showing the evaporator in action, the finishing of the syrup, and the filtering and bottling.

It took 4 hours to boil 27 gallons of sap, another gallon boiled off after I shut it down:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMOazjcdXIw

Then I brought it in on the kitchen stove to finish and filter, a more controlled heat source prevents ruining all your hard work by burning or boiling over the syrup on the fiery woodstove:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxAFNeDQLfk

Once finished I filtered and bottled it. The syrup had cooled to 170 F after filtering so i put it back on the heat to bring it up just under 190F. It has to be over 180 to bottle, but if you reheat it past 190 more sugar sand/ nitre can precipitate out and you will have to re-filter it again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etYEgt2YRkQ

----------


## crashdive123

Looks like your well thought out plan worked magnificently.  Well done.

----------


## rwc1969

Not too bad, I've given away half already, lotsa smilin' faces.

----------


## crashdive123

This is the point where I usually do the shameless plug and reminder about the QC department. :Innocent:

----------


## rwc1969

Hehehehe! Maybe I can donate a pint or two for the next BIF thang, that is if the sap runs, today I only collected 11 gallons, that's 2 days worth of sap, half the buckets were dry. The cold really slows em down.

----------


## crashdive123

That would be a great prize if the sap cooperates (hmmmmmm - I seem to recal Sally Jenkins saying the same thing to me in the 7th grade).

----------


## your_comforting_company

Great job brother. Nice work!!

----------


## rwc1969

the best part of this whole process was giving the syrup to the folks letting me tap their trees. They were all real surprised I had syrup for them already, smilin' faces.

After I left the one lady called and said she had friends who wanted to learn and also let me tap in return, but i have no more money for taps and am in need of more buckets. Buckets are hard to come by, it's a slow process getting them for free.  :Smile:  and the stores want 5 bucks + for food grade plastic which makes it not economical.

The worst part of this whole process is all the washing. I was never good at washing dishes let alone bucket after bucket. I'd rather chop wood all day long than wash dishes for an hour. LOL!

----------


## your_comforting_company

An opportunity to teach is always a great thing. Who knows: 20 years from now that whole neighborhood might be a maple orchard.

----------


## rwc1969

The one neighborhood has 2 big maples in front of every house, and another two or three in each back yard. I wanna tap em all.  :Smile:

----------


## rwc1969

Well I got my second batch finished and bottled, 13 1/2 pints.

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

I was up all night Friday boiling, finishing, filtering, and bottling. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99crmEfRpbs

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

But, I managed to get all three pans boiling well, and was getting about 10 gallons an hour evap rate.

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

Earlier in the day I was collecting sap, it takes me 2 hours to do a 16 mile loop and gather sap from 30 taps using my sled, cooler and buckets.

This re-usable coffee filter works real good to filter out debris from the sap when filling tanks or buckets.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2Y4JCgVpiI

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

Considering the time it takes to gather and boil sap, I wanted to know just how high the sugar content was from the trees I was tapping. So, i bought a sap hydrometer for 12 bucks to test the sap. I drew this off after filtering above and it measures in at over 3%, which is real good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bhtv1Fl0zrE

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

I learned a new rule today called the rule of 86, simply divide 86 by the % of sap and it will give you a good idea of the sap to syrup ratio. My ratio was roughly 28 1/3 to 1, meaning I need to boil off 28 1/3 gallons of sap to get 1 gallon of syrup. I started with roughly 67 gallons of sap, dumped 5 to 10 of it on the ground accidentally, and ended up with just over 1 3/4 gallons of syrup. So, that rule seems to be fairly accurate.

It's a good rule to know, and a good tool to have, because if you're trees are only putting out 1% sap it will take a whopping 86 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup, might not be worth it if there are 3% trees across the street or down the hill.

Once I got the syrup finished and filtered I needed to bottle it. But, it had cooled off below 180 F, the threshold for safe bottling. So, I had to reheat it for bottling. Last time I did this, I ended up with sugar sand from the reheat, that's likely because I had microboils in the reheat pan. 

To prevent this I made a makeshift double boiler, and carefully heated the sap ensuring it was above 180, but below 195 F. If the syrup is heated beyond 195 more sugar sand can be released, putting to waste your filtering efforts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y12Q3jeVrAU

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

I just sat my syrup pot on top of some mason jar rings inside the iron skillet, this way even the syrup nearest the heat source won't overheat. The digital thermometer is great, but it won't accurately tell you if the syrup near the heat is overheating.

That's pretty much it, I just hope this freeze/ thaw cycle continues through the month as I still have lots of bottles to fill and plenty of wood to burn.

----------


## Winnie

I love popping into this thread thread now and again. It's incredibly informative and makes me hungry.

----------


## crashdive123

More great stuff RWC - or I guess I could say SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!

----------


## your_comforting_company

The only thing I heard was "waffles".

I would have thought there would be more sugar in the sap than that. Which brand of maples are you tapping, or can you be sure when they are dormant like that?
We planted a Silver Maple 10 or 12 years ago and it's getting pretty big. It's supposed to have the lowest sugar content and I doubt if I could get 90 gallons of sap from it. I'm wondering if you could do less condensing and use it more like a sweetwater than a syrup, like for sweetening tea.

Really excellent thread. It does make me consider the materials setup, vs the syrup retrieved. I'm just not sure that our tapping season is long enough, or that our trees have enough content to be worth it. Mostly what you see around here are red, with the exception of a few odd ones. I've only spotted a couple sugar maples and they are far, far apart.

----------


## rwc1969

> The only thing I heard was "waffles".
> 
> I would have thought there would be more sugar in the sap than that. Which brand of maples are you tapping, or can you be sure when they are dormant like that? *You can tell. I'm tapping reds and sugars or blacks and average 3% sugar, which is pretty good.*
> We planted a Silver Maple 10 or 12 years ago and it's getting pretty big. It's supposed to have the lowest sugar content and I doubt if I could get 90 gallons of sap from it. *Silvers work, some have high sugar. If it's 10" diameter or bigger, tap it, every tap is worth a quart of syrup or more. All trees vary, some folks get the same sugar from silvers as the do blacks or sugars growing right next to each other, it all just depends on a lot of different factors.* I'm wondering if you could do less condensing and use it more like a sweetwater than a syrup, like for sweetening tea. *Sure you could, it wouldn't preserve or keep from freezing like syrup, but it would be sweeter the more you condense it. Anywhere from sugar water to hard solid sugar.
> 
> *Really excellent thread. It does make me consider the materials setup, vs the syrup retrieved. I'm just not sure that our tapping season is long enough, or that our trees have enough content to be worth it. Mostly what you see around here are red, with the exception of a few odd ones. I've only spotted a couple sugar maples and they are far, far apart. *I wouldn't worry whether or not you have sugars, around here moslty what is tapped is reds, silvers and even box elders. My only concern would be the lack of a freeze thaw cycle. I guess when it comes down to it, as with most things, there's only one way to find out.*


And again, just because I bought a couple fancy pieces of low cost equipment, it's not needed. A drill or brace and bit to tap, elderberry or sumac spout for a tap, an old milk jug or bucket to gather, a pot and an open fire to boil on, a spoon to check consistency, an old pillow case, sheet, wool sweater, flannel shirt to filter it, and something to can or bottle it in. 

It's a very basic process that only gets as complicated as you, or I, make it. It can be very primitive using heated rocks to boil and birch bark containers to store, or it can be extremely advanced with miles of tubing entangling the woods, loud vacuums and reverse osmosis units to draw and filter sap, and huge gas fired stainless steel behemoths to boil it down. There's lots of fancy gismos to test syrup and sap, but a spoon works nearly as good. Any good sugarer can tell syrup by the way it sheets off a spoon and can tell candy or the like by the look and feel as well. With time it all becomes as natural as riding a bike.

----------


## rwc1969

I can't remember if I listed my expenses for this project, but will now:

Evaporator complete 170.00
Wood, 2 face cords delivered 130.00
bottles, hydrometers, filters and the like, another 300.00

600 bucks total, and the only thing I'll need to buy next year is bottles and wood. I'm hoping I can salvage wood as this year goes on, as it's the biggest non-reusable expense.

The above costs are for making about 10 gallons of syrup annually, 40 taps. I coiuld easily expand to 100 taps with a minimal amount of coin, say 50 bucks. I believe a gallon of syrup is currently at 62 dollars, but folks who sell it average 100 a gallon due to selling smaller bottles, candy, creme and other specialty items like maple coated pecans and such. I don't look at this as a money making venture, but with work it could be a good supplement to one's income, or a very profitable business. 

If I were looking at it as a business venture it would go something like this:

Startup cost: 600 bucks is 3 1/2 weeks liviing expenses
Time investment: 16 hours a week times a 6 week season = 96 hours, not including selling time, TBD?
Annual costs: less than 100 if the wood is free, 200-300 if not
Return on investment: 1000 - 250 = 750 dollars for 96 hours work, probably not worth it considering gas driving around, money and time spent on booths at farmers markets or the like.

But, hopefully no one expects to turn a profit on a 10 gallon a year operation. As the number of taps increases so does the ROI.

For me, it's a break even deal, a way to get exercise at a time of year when it's needed, and a way to make family and friends happy keeping a tradition alive in Michigan that's been around for hundreds of years, long before the land was settled.

----------


## rwc1969

Well, it might be over!

I gathered 64 gallons of sap in one day last Wednesday and had 31 from the day before. Fearing the warm temps in the 60's and low 70's would make the sap spoil, I started my boil Wednesday night at 8pm, finished, filtered, bottled, and cleaned up by 11 am the next day.  :Dead: 

I ended up with 2.2 gallons of pure maple syrup from that one run. The huge warmup with no freezing nights for the past 3 days has shut the sap right down, any sap left in tanks is getting cloudy and spoiling. The ants, bees, flies, and moths are out and getting in buckets, so, I snapped the lids on my 5 gallon buckets tight to keep them out. I'm hoping the freezing night temps predicted will cause the sap to start flowing again, and that it will not be buddy, if so, I may get another good week of sugarin', if not, this is it, it's over.

Season details:

I've made 6.78 gallons of syrup this year from 267 gallons of sap collected over the last 16 days.
I spilled about 10-15 gallons of that sap hauling it out of the woods, overfilling buckets and such. 
Average sap yield per tap/ per day is .56 gallons.
Greatest daily sap from a single tap is 5+ gallons, bucket running over.
Least amount is 0, a big goose egg. 
Greatest daily sap total is 76 gallons, least is 5 gallons.
I have 30 taps on 15 trees, 1 to 3 taps per tree depending on size.
I've given away and bartered almost 2 gallons of syrup so far, most was given away.
The bartering was for trees, buckets and wood.

Batch # 4

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

Color:

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

----------


## OhioGrizzLapp

* Makes note: adding some Burton Ohio USA Syrup to Winnies Care Package LOL 

Sap stopped running here now, last weekeend was the last of the real flow. 

Wow, you really got into it this year... good for you, great and rewarding hobby. We just got enough for us this year of maple, sassafrass and birch. Made a total of 7 1/2 jars, but was fun to do.

----------


## crashdive123

If it does end soon, you've still had a darn fine season.  Well done.

----------


## Winnie

That looks sooo good. Pancakes, icecream, sponge pudding, pancakes, sweet dumplings, porridge. Oh did I mention pancakes? Tree tapping doesn't go on here, but then again, we don't have Maples in any number either. That's why I like this sort of thread.

----------


## your_comforting_company

With temps in the 80s here already, I'm afraid our tapping season is just too short for this to be feasible for me.

Looks like you've had a great run. You really gave it your all and did a great write up with some really good pics of your setup. Great job!!

----------


## rwc1969

I don't know what it'd take to get it to you, Winnie, customs?, but I'd gladly send you a bottle from this side of the pond, lol. I've never shipped anything overseas, so I don't know what's involved.

YCC, the furthest south I see folks tapping online is Tennessee or Kentucky, that's not to say they don't but it's all I see. I beleive it's a northeast thang, and slowly fizzels as you head west and south from there, there being Maine, New York, and VERMONT. You got bees though, so you're good. hehehe I wanna get bees too, and make my living sellin' sugar.  :Smile:

----------


## your_comforting_company

That would be a "sweet" lifestyle hehe.

I have a feeling that the forum is going to need a bartering section soon  :Wink:

----------


## rwc1969

Yes it would! 

I was gonna pull my taps, but we're in the midst of another cold snap, so I think I'll hold off. I'm up to 7.5 gallons now and hoping for two more. Once the weather warms above freezing and stays there, even for just two days, the sap slows or stops, sap in buckets and tanks quickly begins to gewt cloudy and sours, and the buckets and such start molding. This warmup we had gave me a chance to get my holding tanks cleaned up, buckets washed, more wood split and now I'm just waiting on the trees to give it up.

----------


## your_comforting_company

I told y'all about that easter snap! It's 87F here today.. maples here are probably pushing sap back into the ground LOL.

----------


## rwc1969

87!!!! Oh man, it's getting down to 10 here tonight, and now the weatherman says it's supposed to be below freezing for two days straight or more. Extended shows 68 by next Saturday, so now I don't know what to think.

----------


## your_comforting_company

I think it's time to dirty them buckets up again hehe

----------


## crashdive123

Yep - looking forward to the cold front moving in on Friday.  Highs will be down to 75.

----------


## canid

> the furthest south I see folks tapping online is Tennessee or Kentucky,  that's not to say they don't but it's all I see. I beleive it's a  northeast thang


there's a common misconception that you can only get good sugar yields in such areas. of course, maple (or other tree) species contributes greatly to sugar content, and climate/weather does as well, but a lot of people take old folk guidelines too closely to heart at some times. there's some truth to it, but it's not carved in stone.

----------


## rwc1969

It could just be a quality issue as well canid. When the weather warms or the trees bud the sap gets cloudy with bacteria. Many folks say to toss this sap, while many others say use it. It makes a darker syrup overall, but many, especially locally prefer the darker, stronger "maple" flavored syrup.

I've had two batches of cloudy sap now and both have came out great and made excellent maple syrup, all who have tasted it prefer this flavorwise, I like both the light and the dark, but the light doesn't have the "maple" flavor that most are used to. 

I've seen reports that cloudy sap makes bitter or burned flavor syrup, but so far, in my experience, that just isn't the case, it tastes great with no burned taste or bitter aftertaste. I suppose if the sap was real cloudy and completely soured it would not make good syrup, but cloudy sap that has set for 3 or 4 days in above 40 F temps turns out just fine.

Just a guess, but I would think that sap collected in areas that don't get a consistent freeze/ thaw cycle would produce this type of syrup. Most of the literature and online references to maple are from a commercial aspect, and are not from a "I just want something sweet to put on my pancakes" perspective.

I boiled down 22 gallons of 3% cloudy sap yesterday that had sat for 4 days in below freezing temps and, after filtering, I got 1/2 gallon of dark amber syrup, batch #6. This syrup was the same color as my 4th batch which was clear sap and kept at or just above freezing and boiled within 2 days.

I've made about 8.3 gallons so far and with next weeks temps returning to the 40's in the day and below freezing at night I'm hoping for one more good run to bring it up to an even 10 gallons for the season, which was my original goal.

Batch 6 color:

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

----------


## your_comforting_company

Gorgeous syrup! Bacon, eggs, pancakes, all slathered and sopping with some of that lovely syrup... You're making me hungry!!

----------


## randyt

Interesting thread. We still have cold temps up here, actually the sap quit running. I'm waiting for it to warm up during the day so it'll run again. 
I noticed you have a candy thermometer in your pan, what temps do you shoot for? I finished my syrup off at 225 degrees. Is that too hot?

----------


## rwc1969

I don't use the candy thermometer anyore, it didn't havefine enough graduations for determining syrup. I actually don't use temp anymore either, but use a syrup hydrometer instead. I use a digital thermometer set to 217 F and when the alarm goes off i start checking the molten bubbly goo with the hydro until it's syrup.

I'd say 225 is a bit too high as most of mine reaches syrup at around 219-220, but thermometers are thrown off by barometer, rate of boil, and altitude, so + or - 5 degrees is likely. 

Once I started using the hydro I realized I had been making my syrup too thin, as the sheeting action off the spoon is really pronounced when it's syrup. It almost just hangs there in chunks when it's syrup, and the time from when it first starts sheeting until it becomes syrup is quite long. The hydro makes it easy, just fill the cup, gently lower the hydro in and if the level of the syrup rests on the red line, it's syrup, 32 degrees baume, and nothing affects that reading but the temp of the syrup, it can even be tested at room temp, you just make adjustments to the scale based on the temp of the syrup.

----------


## randyt

thanks for the info, it gives me something to shoot for.

----------


## rwc1969

You're welcome! BTW, the hydro is only 12 bucks and I got my digital thermometer at Walwart for like 13 bucks or something. Oh, and if you buy one you don't need the 27 dollar SS cup they sell with it, a copper tube or even a piece of pvc, or a SS thermos will do. As long as it's 8" deep and 1+" wide or so the short hydrometer will float, and that's all that's needed. Considering I ruined my HVAC thermometer last year and ruined the cheapo candy thermometer this year, that ain't too bad a price to pay for reliability and ease of use.

On a side note:

I'm thinking that as a commercial venture this may not work for me. I've already given away half of what I've made, 4 gallons worth. But, I've sold enough to more than pay for the wood I bought, 138 bucks, and still have plenty more to sell and eat.

I'm setting aside a bottle or two for this forum, Boots in the field, if we're still doing that, and plan on doing a giveaway on another forum I visit.

At this point I'm pretty well set for next year and have this syrup making thing down to a science, no more fidgeting around wondering what to do next, or worrying I'm going to burn a batch. I just go out, fill the pans, start the fire, and start the routine; skim foam, scoop sap, feed wood, and repeat. When I'm down to the last pan and it starts foaming up I start testing for density, once it hits the red line for hot test I have the filters all warmed and wet; dump in the hot syrup and start pulling prefilters, once it's filtered I already have the water boiling in the double boiler and bottles ready to fill, heat it back up to 190 and start filling, wiping, capping, and tipping bottles. Then it's time to clean up all the pots, filters and such and put it all away for the next go round. By the time I'm done with cleanup, both inside and outside, and have taken a break, the bottles are cool and I just pack them away in the box they came in.

I've found that there are probably 10 thousand recipes for maple; baked beans, BBQ sauce, salad dressing, all kinds of desserts, maple coated pecans and peanuts, MMM, granulated maple sugar, maple cream, maple toffee, hard maple candy, soft maple candy, maple lollipops, lol, the list goes on and on. I've never considered maple for anything other than syrup for pancakes, french toast, bacon and sausage, but the uses are endless, it's sugar. First thing i'm gonna do when season is done is make a big ole batch of maple coated peanuts.

----------


## rwc1969

OK, one last post for the season, some recipes:  :Smile: 

*Maple coated peanuts!*

http://youtu.be/hFam2Wo7NPk

You can use any nuts really, but I used peanuts.

1 lb. nuts to 6-8 oz. of syrup

Heat syrup in pan to 242 F
Heat nuts in 225 F oven
When syrup reaches 242 add the nuts, turn off the heat, and stir until the sugar become granulated or powdery looking, no longer liquid.
Spread the nuts on a cookie sheet to cool and eat em up.
They taste similar to honey roasted peanuts.

Make sure the pan you heat the syrup in is big enough to stir in the nuts, and be careful not to burn the syrup. 
This recipe takes about 1/2 hour to make. 

*Maple Dressing*

This comes from epicurious.com

1/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 TBSP white vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup veg. oil

Whisk all but oil to blend, then gradually whisk in oil until slightly thick
Season to taste with salt and pepper
Refrigerate, and re-whisk before using

This goes REAL good in a salad with dried cherries, apple slices, walnuts and baby greens

*Maple Glaze*

Bring 3 TBSP balsamic vineger to boil and add:
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup chicken broth

Reduce to 1/2 volume and serve over finished pork chops or chicken, we used pork chops.

This recipe will harden as it sits, so it's best to prepare and use immediately.

----------


## ClayPick

The weather was to cold for a a good run of sap this year, then again it's a fickle science at best. I'm getting by on this babby!
 Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

----------


## rwc1969

I don't know what it is, but it looks real good.

----------


## Winnie

I have no idea either, it could be a type of Maple syrup Danish(the pastry not the people). Whatever it is, I'd like some!

----------


## Rick

I should remind you about our QC department. I assume the part that's missing has been sent for testing.

----------


## crashdive123

Still waiting patiently for samples to arrive.

----------


## rwc1969

I'll have to contact the postmaster as it was shipped out two weeks ago.  :Smile: 

I wanna know what those danish things are and how to make them.

----------


## Winnie

> I'll have to contact the postmaster as it was shipped out two weeks ago. 
> 
> I wanna know what those danish things are and how to make them.


Oh yeah, me too!

----------


## crashdive123

> I wanna know what those danish things are and how to make them.


The pastry or the people?

----------


## rwc1969

One more recipe:

1) Boil maple until it will hold together when dropped in cold water taking care not to burn it.

2)Pour over vanilla ice cream

3) Let cool slightly and Eat!

It becomes nice and chewy like taffy or caramel.

You can do the same with snow or crushed ice, it's called sugar on snow.

----------

