Maple Syrup

Making maple syrup has always been a dream ever since learning about it in grade school.  While visiting a hardware store I found a little book about making maple syrup with the taps used to extract the sap from maple trees.  The book and a few taps are now mine.  I hope I have sugar maples!

Last Saturday seemed like the perfect day to start.  Following the instructions in the book, I got my portable drill, attached a ½ inch bit and scooted out to my maple trees.  The book said use a 7/16 inch drill, but I only had a ½ inch drill.  I doubt the tree knows the difference.  Following the directions, I drilled a hole slightly upwards into the trunk.  The tap was inserted with ease and a little tap-tap with a rubber mallet secured it.  The tap comes with a little hook to hang the bucket but being in the modern era, I attached a clear plastic hose and ran the sap into a clean 5 gallon bucket. 

The inserted tap.  If you look carefully you can see a drop of sap.

As soon as the drilling and tapping was complete little drips of clear liquid started seeping out of the taps.

The modern hose and bucket system.  Would you believe there was snow when the tree was tapped.

The best maple syrup weather is warm sunny days and cold nights.  Saturday was a warm sunny day and as the next few days rolled along the days got warmer and the nights never really got cold.  Most of the temperatures this week have been in the high 60’s to 70’s.   Despite the lack of ideal weather, one week later I had about two gallons of sap.  Most of it was obtained on Saturday and Sunday, day one and two.

One week later is boil down day.  It takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of maple syrup.   My 2 gallons of sap should make a little less than a cup of pure maple syrup.  The straight sap has no taste.  After losing 50% of the water it starts to have a slightly sweet taste.  After 75% evaporation it tasted like a sweetened drink.  At 1 cup, maple syrup was the result.

My scant 1 cup of maple syrup still warm in the jar

Check out this blog.  http://www.windymeadowsfarm.blogspot.com/

The March 1 post, with pictures, describes a visit to an actual maple syrup shed with a large evaporator.

Maple syrup houses always use wood fires for evaporation, because it is inexpensive, and stainless steel evaporation pans.  My hobby operation, or experiment, used the kitchen stove and a stainless steel pan.  I could have jerry-rigged something else but the stove was sitting there calling for its use and made it simple.   The cost of electricity for evaporation was probably sky high but who is counting for one cup of pure home made maple syrup.

Should be pancakes tomorrow.

The Garden Doc