Based on what my friend from up north said yesterday, I decided to check out my sap buckets. What a shock! They were all full to the brim with frozen sap. Probably about 11 gallons worth. So I took the buckets in the house and replaced them with empties. I guess I'll be cooking syrup again tomorrow.
I really never thought the sap would run with the cold weather we've been having. I guess the warmth of the sun has a lot to do with it, too. It is welcome, though, because if the weather suddenly turns really warm, the sap run will be over.
Learn something new every day.
Congrats Karen! With the prices of maple syrup around here I need o think about finding a way to make my own. $42/.5 gallon here now and I use a lot to cure my bacon. I wonder if the sap alone would work? I just gets dumed in the brine anyway.
The sap is very, very slightly sweet. Almost undetectable. It takes anywhere from 26-40 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup, so the sugar is pretty low density.
Hmm so a hint of maple could be had in a brine maybe instead of water and salt sap and salt? Could be an interesting experiment but I am done with bacon for the year!
Hi Karen
I picked up supplies to try collecting sap from some of the maples on our land this year so I am new to this.
Just wondering how much above freezing your temperatures have been that the sap is flowing already.
We are still buried in snow but it is supposed to be just above freezing tomorrow and I'm thinking maybe it is time to get busy tapping.
Dave
I set my taps the first week of March, which is pretty usual for this area (western Wisconsin). In the past week, our temps have been topping out at about 32*, which is why I was so surprised that the buckets were full when I went to check them. Normally, you want night time temps to be in the mid to upper twenties and the daytime temps to rapidly rise to upper 30's to mid 40's.
Where are you located? I'm always setting out the taps while knee deep in snow still.
Debi, I really don't think that sap would give much maple flavor at all. Some of the distinctive flavor of maple syrup comes from the cooking of it and it has to be reduced by about 3/4's before I really notice much flavor in it at all.
Also the cooking itself chemically alters the syrup to creat thos flavours and aromas not the concentration itself, If you were to concentrate it using vaccum I dont think you will end up with maple syrup, perhaps maple sugar liquide.
We are located in Saskatchewan. We got a little above freezing this afternoon so I tapped 10 trees to see what happens.
Snow is still knee to waist deep, had to make a trail with a tractor to get to them.
Dave
Ah okay thanks - I realy don't have the space to take on maple sryup making here. Maybe I will just stick to shagbark syrup that has become rather popular around here and takes up so much less space. I just use on old 40 coffee pot I got at the GW Boutique (Good Will Store).
Are you guys making some Maple wine from it or just using it as a sweetener?
I use mine for syrup - waffles, pancakes, and Dutch Babies - yum!
What's a Dutch Baby?
I posted a new thread with the Dutch Babies recipe (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,6804.new.html#new). Sorry for the obscure reference!
Geez...I'm in love with this forum :)
We have three maples in the back yard but I'm uncertain whether or not they can be used? I think they are silver maples but need to do some research -- my wifes ex planted them about 16 years ago and at least one is big enough to tap.
I've been told ANY Maple can be used but again, am not so sure.
I've heard the same, JarHead. Ours are silver maples, but I only know that because my daughter had to identify trees for science class years ago. It makes very good syrup. If you aren't certain of the tree variety, many times you can take a leaf to your county extension agent and they can help you identify it.
Quote from: MrsKK on April 03, 2011, 09:46:53 PM
I've heard the same, JarHead. Ours are silver maples, but I only know that because my daughter had to identify trees for science class years ago. It makes very good syrup. If you aren't certain of the tree variety, many times you can take a leaf to your county extension agent and they can help you identify it.
Good point -- I'll do some checking again (think I did a couple years ago)...our biggest is about the right size (I think I heard 12" in diameter min?).
I used to live at Edith Wharton's home in the Berkshires, "The Mount," lots of maples of different kinds, and if memory serves right, they did tap silvers there. I seem to recall that you could get sap from the silver maples, but you really have to boil it down to get any kind of real syrup (that is, more than with sugar maples). Not bad, just not much concentration.
I was looking up tapping maples and it appears ANY maple can be tapped (as well as other trees). I'm thinking I'm a little late in the game but I will plan on tapping them next year -- which gives me almost a year to prep.
Only one is ready anyway but I have some incentive to water them more now ;)
If you are cooking down for home use, you can just cook it to your own preferences as far as thickness and flavor. I cook about 25 gallons of sap down to one gallon of syrup. I've heard that commercial purpose is closer to 40 gallons to 1. However, our syrup is quite flavorful and sweet, plenty thick.
Here's (http://howtomakemaplesyrup.com/) a website that's got pretty good info on tapping and cooking the sap. I use food grade plastic pails with lids and run tubing from the taps to the pails, through holes in the lids. It helps keep the sap a lot cleaner.
I don't use a thermometer because I don't have one that's long enough to reach to the bottom of the pan, but cook the sap until I can't stir down the boil. I do filter the sap prior to cooking it and again just before bottling it.
Quote from: OlJarhead on April 04, 2011, 12:26:06 AM
I was looking up tapping maples and it appears ANY maple can be tapped (as well as other trees).
I would think any sugar-bearing plant could be extracted, though hadn't thought about it. I know my grandfather-in-law, a true and noble son of Estonia, has a ton of birch on his acres in the Upper Peninsula of MI, and made syrup from those.
Update
1 month later. Tapped 10 trees
Yielded 0-1.2 gallons per day per tree
Built 30 gallon wood fired evaporator
Cooked 2 batches 35 gallon first batch resulting in 1 gallon syrup
Second batch 38 gallon produced just over 1 gallon
Amazing flavour with a slightly fruity taste
Warmer weather now trees slowed down to 2.5-3 gallon per day total 10 trees
Hoping for one more batch before trees bud
9-10 hours cook time
Followed by 1.5-2 hours in smaller pot on propane burner to finish syrup
The boys are getting sick of collecting sap but do not complain when eating pancakes
Next year plan to tap 30 trees then the boys will scream
Dave
It sounds like you had a great run, Dave. We ended up with a gallon of syrup total. I can it up in pint jars.
Not a good sap year here. The weather was too up and down. Unfortunately, we had slightly warm days and warm nights (40's daytime, upper 30's at night) all throughout March. Not good at all for syruping. I pulled the taps the first week in April.