Maple Syrup

[chado613]

Put approx. 35 gallons through this yesterday...pretty happy with the results

Down to about 3.75 gallons now....Thinking about finishing on the stove or on the BBQ. Not sure if there is still enough water to make things sticky in the house

Any thoughts?

 

[motownbrowne]

Well, 40:1 is a ballpark number. Could be higher or lower. But if you were at 35:1 for the sake of easy math, you'd need to remove another 2.75 gallons of water. It won't make your house sticky since the sugar will stay in the pan, but it might get a little humid. Personally that's probably what I'd do. I'd start with a gallon in the pot and add a little at a time. You've got a lot of work into it at this point. Using the stove is a nice way to have good control over the boil. Be sure to keep a close eye on it at the end.

 

[LouNY]

It'll do it, I would hope that you have a good exhaust fan over the stove.
Good Luck

 

[shaeff]

It'll do it, I would hope that you have a good exhaust fan over the stove. Good Luck

An exhaust fan that actually exhausts outside, not the recirculating type!

 

[teejk]

Well, 40:1 is a ballpark number. Could be higher or lower. But if you were at 35:1 for the sake of easy math, you'd need to remove another 2.75 gallons of water. It won't make your house sticky since the sugar will stay in the pan, but it might get a little humid. Personally that's probably what I'd do. I'd start with a gallon in the pot and add a little at a time. You've got a lot of work into it at this point. Using the stove is a nice way to have good control over the boil. Be sure to keep a close eye on it at the end.

Around here (not too far from you) it looks like it's going to be a bumper crop...decent daytime temps yet still below normal freezing night-time temps.

 

[motownbrowne]

Around here (not too far from you) it looks like it's going to be a bumper crop...decent daytime temps yet still below normal freezing night-time temps.

I sure hope so! Anything is possible when you're at the mercy of mother nature. I have most of my taps in and the sap is running right now. Hopefully I'll start cooking by this weekend. I still have a few more holes to drill, but I'm hoping to get to 300 taps on vacuum. I'd love to make 150 gallons of syrup, but I'll feel a lot better once we hit a hundred.

 

[teejk]

I sure hope so! Anything is possible when you're at the mercy of mother nature. I have most of my taps in and the sap is running right now. Hopefully I'll start cooking by this weekend. I still have a few more holes to drill, but I'm hoping to get to 300 taps on vacuum. I'd love to make 150 gallons of syrup, but I'll feel a lot better once we hit a hundred.

150 gallons of syrup? That's a lot of sap! And that's a lot of $$$! Good luck. Been a few years where mother nature shut you guys down with warm weather.

 

[wngsprd]

I had to prune two storm damaged limbs off one of my sugar maples on Saturday...couldn't believe the amount of sap water that ran out of 3 inch diameter branches. Enjoy your syrup!

 

[bunyip]

Always wondered how you made maple syrup, not made here as far as I know although we have Japanese Maple (at home and not a native) which I doubt are the same thing.

 

[BlackOps]

wow!. love maple syrup! nice job to you guys!

 

[flingwing1969]

Well, 40:1 is a ballpark number. Could be higher or lower. But if you were at 35:1 for the sake of easy math, you'd need to remove another 2.75 gallons of water. It won't make your house sticky since the sugar will stay in the pan, but it might get a little humid. Personally that's probably what I'd do. I'd start with a gallon in the pot and add a little at a time. You've got a lot of work into it at this point. Using the stove is a nice way to have good control over the boil. Be sure to keep a close eye on it at the end.

Check Craigslist to a cheap or free range, they are on there frequently, and put it on the porch for this purpose. Like a summer kitchen, which it could be as well. Easy, steady heat, and no messing in the kitchen.

 

[motownbrowne]

150 gallons of syrup? That's a lot of sap! And that's a lot of $$$! Good luck. Been a few years where mother nature shut you guys down with warm weather.

A lot of work too!!

Hopefully we get a lot of sap. I'm pretty small scale compared to many guys around here (WI is number 5 on the list of syrup producing states). Lots of people running over 10k taps not too far from here. I do okay since I sell it all directly to consumers, but it still requires a lot of equipment (my used evaporator cost 1/3 as much as my new Kubota and I can only use it for 3 weeks/year). It's like the other farming I do. You work all day every day at it and hope to do alright. So far this year I've worked every day for 2 weeks and haven't made any syrup yet. Last year I broke my ankle right before the season. If it weren't for health insurance and the help of a few great friends, I woulda gone belly up.

 

[buickanddeere]

Maple Syrup = nectar of the gods. Anything else on pancakes is sacrilege and the act of a heathen.

 

[buickanddeere]

Not a fan of reverse osmosis syrup. It is not boiled long enough to obtain the complex caramel flavours. Should be boiled over a hardwood fire .

 

[motownbrowne]

Not a fan of reverse osmosis syrup. It is not boiled long enough to obtain the complex caramel flavours. Should be boiled over a hardwood fire .

I tend to agree, though them be fighting words on the syrup forum. I will say that I don't think which type of wood makes any difference. Personally I prefer softwood. It doesn't fill the firebox with coals and it burns hot and fast, which is what I want. Also, it's a good way to use that kind of wood. I like oak, all, maple, hickory, etc in my woodstove, but I gotta use up the poplar, basswood, pine, box elder, etc somewhere. Might as well put it to use. Here's my cooker, by the way. It'll burn a full cord of soft wood in 3 hours .

 

[Bird]

Whew, that does look like a lot of work! But since everyone likes maple syrup, I hope you do well with it.

 

[Thomas]

Yet to reach 40/1 here weather hasn't been all that good,ups and downs for temps next days.

 

[David Wayne]

A turkey fryer with a stainless stock pot is a good way to finish. As to the ratio, around here this year the sap is lower in sugar than normal. I am running about 65 to 1.

 

[chado613]

Nice Setup MotownBrowne!!

Just a tad bigger than my operation !!:laughing:

 

[motownbrowne]

Nice Setup MotownBrowne!!

Just a tad bigger than my operation !!:laughing:

Yeah, i'm trying to get as big as I can and still have fun. That cooker is bigger than I needed, but I got it on Craigslist for a great price. A 3x12 would have been perfect (that's a 4x14) but it's rare to see them for sale. Kinda like tractors, plenty of 20 HP and 100 HP machines available used, but the 45 HP hydro rig doesn't show up very often.

It's great though to be able to finish cooking before dinner time, and I'm hoping to get loads of sap delivered from some other guys to cook on shares.