Maple Syrup season!

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  • phylodog

    Grandmaster
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    Mar 7, 2008
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    Arcadia
    Thanks SR, I just tapped three trees in my front yard. I've never paid attention but in looking at the dead leaves on the ground I've believe I've got both sugar and silver maples but I don't know which is which.

    The first two I tapped started pouring sap immediately. The third did not and had not by the time I had the bucket and lid put in place. Fingers crossed I might get to make my very first pint of maple syrup!
     

    chevyguy

    Expert
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    0   0   0
    Dec 2, 2012
    790
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    Northern Indiana
    Thanks SR, I just tapped three trees in my front yard. I've never paid attention but in looking at the dead leaves on the ground I've believe I've got both sugar and silver maples but I don't know which is which.

    The first two I tapped started pouring sap immediately. The third did not and had not by the time I had the bucket and lid put in place. Fingers crossed I might get to make my very first pint of maple syrup!
    I have a gallon
     

    dudley0

    Nobody Important
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    99   0   0
    Mar 19, 2010
    3,725
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    Grant County
    Man now I am really interested. Only have one medium sized and a couple smalls on the new property, but I have access to 14 acres down the road.
     

    Wbayne

    Plinker
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    0   0   0
    Aug 21, 2019
    35
    8
    Madison
    Took the family to check out the sugarbush maple syrup festival Saturday, really cool to see it all happen!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     

    phylodog

    Grandmaster
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    59   0   0
    Mar 7, 2008
    18,754
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    Arcadia
    So I've got approx 1.5 gallons from the two trees I tapped yesterday and I drained the sap into containers and put it in my fridge. I read someone talking about boiling it for ten minutes then putting it into the fridge. Can I do that and just boil each day for ten minutes and when the sap stops do one final boil?
     
    Last edited:

    shibumiseeker

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    49   0   0
    Nov 11, 2009
    10,708
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    near Bedford on a whole lot of land.
    So I've got approx 1.5 gallons from the two trees I tapped yesterday and I drained the sap into containers and put it in my fridge. I read someone talking about boiling it for ten minutes then putting it into the fridge. Can I do that and just boil each day for ten minutes and when the sap stops do one final boil?
    If you are storing it in your fridge you can get by with boiling every few days to sterilize it. Boil it longer when you do though, it’s easier to store when it’s less quantity.
     

    spencer rifle

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    66   0   0
    Apr 15, 2011
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    Scrounging brass
    Some pics of our small setup:
    1614691277841.png
    Sap buckets

    1614690909630.png
    Collecting and cooking

    1614690909199.png
    Syrup almost ready

    1614690987041.png
    Filtering and canning

    1614691245911.png
    Finished. A bit cloudy from sugar sand. That will settle out. We have tried multiple filtering strategies, from double t-shirts to this sap filter cloth. There is a tradeoff between how fast it filters and how much sand it gets out. If our filtering takes too long, the syrup cools too much. So we are OK with a little sand. These sealed without any additional processing.
     

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    phylodog

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    59   0   0
    Mar 7, 2008
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    Arcadia
    Here goes nuttin...
    AdwJ2HMh.jpg
     

    phylodog

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    Mar 7, 2008
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    Arcadia
    Question for those with experience, is there a point in the cook (4hrs, 5hrs, etc) where it should taste sweet? I only ask because I'm not sure which type of maple trees I've tapped. The sweetness was barely discernible in the sap. If I've tapped silvers I'll stop wasting my time :lmfao:
     

    cg21

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    May 5, 2012
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    Question for those with experience, is there a point in the cook (4hrs, 5hrs, etc) where it should taste sweet? I only ask because I'm not sure which type of maple trees I've tapped. The sweetness was barely discernible in the sap. If I've tapped silvers I'll stop wasting my time :lmfao:
    I am new to all of this..... but my observation it doesn’t change much at all until very close to the end. And silver maples are great for sap people tap birch trees black walnuts etc just takes more sap from them to make syrup.
     

    spencer rifle

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    Apr 15, 2011
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    Scrounging brass
    It should start tasting more sweet as the color gets a little darker. Silvers are notorious for dilute sap, and their season ends the earliest, since the flower buds open very early. Even Norways are better.

    Syrup can be made from black and yellow birch, black walnut, hickory, beech, and quite a few others. This does not include oaks, but you can at least eat the acorns if processed properly.

    Sugar concentration in the sap is influenced by several factors - species, individual genetics, amount of sunlight/open grown vs forest grown, soil conditions and moisture, tree health, etc.
     

    phylodog

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    59   0   0
    Mar 7, 2008
    18,754
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    Arcadia
    Thanks for the info! Going decent so far, getting some color on what I've boiled. Keeping a good bed of coals enough to create a strong rolling boil isn't easy up here in the flatlands, the wind is killing me. I got another 3 gallons or so this morning so I'm working on getting the fire kicked back up to boil some more.

    44xlJhbh.jpg
     

    cg21

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    May 5, 2012
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    Curious for you guys that sell your syrup..... what do you charge per pint? Having a hard time coming up with a number because it is so time consuming. Figured Atleast I could hear from you guys and get an idea what a pint goes for.
     

    phylodog

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    Mar 7, 2008
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    Arcadia
    I'm guessing I've got about 6 gallons or so boiled down into this pot. I've got some bottles and filters coming tomorrow so I'm going to try to boil this down today then I'll reheat it, filter it and bottle it tomorrow. I'm anxious to find out how much I end up with. Next year I'll be better prepared and hopefully will end up with a bigger yield.
    tq7gC7sh.jpg
     
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