|
What is maple syrup It's a sugar product made by boiling the sap of the maple tree, which typically contains 1-2% sugar content, until it contains 66 percent sugar. That's really all there is to it, and this can be as simple as (not my pictures): * drill a hole in a tree * hang a bucket from it * collect the sap, boil it. A lot.  Cheap hotel pans from Amazon can be used to make a simple tray to evaporate in. Here is one someone made by cutting a hole in an old oil drum, putting hotel pans in it, and building a fire under it.  Figuring out when the syrup is "done" can be accomplished crudely by temperature (sap boils at around 212; syrup boils at closer to 219, depending on your altitude). However, the real way to do this is to use a tool called a syrup hydrometer to make sure you're at the right specific gravity. Then you filter the product to get minerals which crystallize during boiling out, can or jar it, and you're all set! Historically, everyone used buckets, and these days many people still do, often using ATVs to simplify collection. However, larger operations, or even smaller home operations like mine, often use tubes and gravity to collect the sap in a central repository. Below are some pictures of my operation from last year. In the next post I will show what I am adding this year, as well as discussing my plans for maple candy (including THC infused  ) Here's the special $16 drillbit and overly expensive tensioning tool used to tap holes in the trees and then attach T-junctions to the lines.  5/16"s lines running from trees, into a larger main line.  Main line dumping into a ~375gal stainless steel reservoir. From there, I have to use buckets to move it into the sugar house. Eventually I'll set up a pump system.  Here's the sweet 3x4 evaporator tray I inherited. Unfortunately, it's old lead-welded english tin, so after doing some test boils and a test batch, I ditched it because lead is no beuno. I sold it on craigslist very explicitly as "LEAD WELD, NEEDS RE-WELD FROM SOMEONE CAPABLE OF DOING THAT WORK", and sold it to a guy who said it was "just like" the one he'd used as a kid, and clearly had no intention of getting the old solder off. Well, enjoy your dementia and aggression, I guess...  I needed internet in the sugarhouse so I could do my day job from there; solution turned out to be a wireless bridge on 200' of extension cord, hanging in a tree. Worked great, though some of my Skype calls did ask me if I was "living in a murder shack".  Here's the new pan I got; it's only 2x3, so only fills half the space on my arch. But, LEAD FREE OH EM GEE  I think this was the fourth boil of the year. You can see I crudely covered half the arch space with scrap metal. It was smokey in there.  You can see the extent of my sketch job to only use half the arch. You'll also see that (questionable) quality, US-made glassware is a strong asset to any time-intensive endeavor.  A portion of last year's haul. I think our final numbers were: 1.5 gallon - produced on old, leaded pan. Disposed of. (Well, given to crotchety 73 year old cousin who insists he's too old to worry about lead.) 1 gallon - consumed by us during production season. Yum. 3 gallons - set aside as a quart a month for our own use. 3 gallons - gifted to various people. I lost easily a couple gallons to spoiled sap. Cabbages and Kings fucked around with this message at 21:34 on Feb 9, 2019 |
#
?
Feb 9, 2019 20:36
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 17:20 |
|
|
2019 High level plans: * scale from 50 to 100 taps * scale from one 2x3 pan to 2 of them * make maple candy  Here's the sorry state I left my shack in last spring and failed to deal with over the summer. I need to go through and throw a lot of stuff out including all that old line, I also need to see about maybe getting a new stovepipe this year. In general I need to set up a small new space down here to rig up a little gas coleman grill to use for the final finishing (which I did inside last year and was messy as gently caress).  I think my firewood stash is sufficient for the season; I have more than I did last year. But, I am trying to double up, so we'll see. In addition to all this, there's a ~70' pine that I felled and sectioned but didn't split stacked outside the shack, and if push really comes to shove I can always unsafely chainsaw split it in the spring.  I just had someone help me put in another 250' of main line today. You can see a tree that I tagged here as one that'll be tapped. I have a second 2x3' pan identical to the one I have on order; hopefully they get it to me pretty soon. The next couple weeks will be a lot of running around tying up new lines in 15 degree weather in whatever free time I have. Maple Candy Maple candy is loving awesome, and making it just involves boiling the sap down further, and then I think agitating it as it cools. I am going to attempt this this year. Because pot is legal here, I am also going to see about making some maple candy infused with THC from some of this stuff I grew in the garden last year:   I feel like winter just started so it's weird to be frantically prepping for the thaw, but here we are. Cabbages and Kings fucked around with this message at 20:46 on Feb 9, 2019 |
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2019 20:36
|
|
|
Last year, I didn't have a cart, and my utility belt was MIA. Having a cart makes running lines much easier; of course an ATV is better. It topped out at 20 today which is barely warm enough to drill taps, so I didn't do any of that. There's plenty to do with just running lines.  Clockwise from lower left: three hour old peppermint tea, 16g food grade tubing and headwear reflecting my choice of beloved Buffalo institutions, assorted gloves, a drill, a box of small connector parts, an axe, a safety helmet, a bunch of different surveyor's tapes, a chainsaw, a bluetooth speaker, chainsaw tools, ski googles.  It only took half the winter for my shelf of auxiliary wood to start to fail structurally, bummer.  This is the junction of the new main line and the old; this is the one part that I hired someone to help me do this year, because getting the tension right is important and I've only been through it once before.  A 5/16" line that's already hooked up to the main line, along with the hardware used to make the connection.  Since I don't have a vacuum setup, everything has to be downhill. You're not suppose to put more than 5 taps on one 5/16" line, so I tagged a bunch of trees with different colors, in stripes, to know where I'm putting lines in. Then I went back and did it again, because the first time around I tagged a couple Elm trees and overlooked a couple great maples.  This is my best friend and worst enemy, the 5/16s tubing tool. It forces the tube over all the connectors. It works real well and is straightforward for something designed by a sadist; I think it cost a hundred and fifty dollars. At the highest point in each line, I anchor around a (maple) tree. There's a lot of walking back and forth, unwinding the line, cutting it to an approximate length, pulling it so there's no slack, working any kinks or twists out, etc. I put out enough line for another 15 taps today, so another 2.5 days like that and I'll be done with this part. Some of that is going to involve a ladder and be kind of questionable, but not too bad. Regardless of the pace I make on this, once we get to slightly warmer weather my priority will be cleaning out last years lines and getting taps in, because I want to be capturing something as soon as we hit freeze/thaw again. Cabbages and Kings fucked around with this message at 05:09 on Feb 11, 2019 |
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2019 05:07
|
|
|
Came to brag about my sap Im selling. 78 taps, already have sold 120 gallons of 2%. This is a good season in WV. We normally get less than 2%. Looking to build a sugar shed eventually. Also a hot bucket of water works better than that stupid overpriced t connector tool.
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2019 15:31
|
|
|
Gath posted:Came to brag about my sap Im selling. 78 taps, already have sold 120 gallons of 2%. This is a good season in WV. We normally get less than 2%. Nice, what do you get per gallon? I think here you get half the wholesale rate you'd get off the syrup, so my napkin math tells me that's something like $0.43 a gallon. quote:Looking to build a sugar shed eventually. Also a hot bucket of water works better than that stupid overpriced t connector tool.
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2019 15:41
|
|
|
I think I will be getting something similar via price. After the season bulk sap rate is calculated they let me know. Around here there is very few people doing it and sugar content drops away. Kinda have me over a barrel till i get a evaporator. I also tap red and black maples if they are close by. I use natural gravity fed lines 3/16 at 25 trees or so per line into 55 gallon barrels. Elevation is an advantage here. I can get pretty good vacuum on small lines. Ive seen sap pulled up and over hills if the vacuum on other side is good. That and you dont have to be super serious if line is drooping anywhere. Hence, no annoying t connector tool.(do it by hand)
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2019 16:14
|
|
|
3 more lines up today, for a total of 28 trees wired up this year, which I think brings me to 77. 23 to go, then they all have to be tapped, then the real work starts.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2019 17:12
|
|
|
Have you done any birch or sycamore sapping? Ive heard they can do followup after maple season.
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2019 14:38
|
|
|
Gath posted:Have you done any birch or sycamore sapping? Ive heard they can do followup after maple season. I haven't. I do have a decent amount of birch, some of it near the existing lines. The thing is -- last year, after doing 50 taps, I was so loving ready to be done and move on to spring property cleanup it wasn't funny. So, this year, shooting for 100, I doubt I'm gonna have any energy left. Question for you about "hot water" -- I could see that as a good replacement for the tubing tool, for making T's which can be done easily indoors. But, when I'm out either running lines, or splicing T's into lines, it seems really hard to have hot water on hand (no ATV remember), and even at that, the amount of tension I can put on the lines when I'm splicing with the tool, outstrips my upper body strength by some significant amount. Tight lines and good gravity and seals are very important, especially since I don't have vacuum. My goal is to run it like this for a couple years, try to become revenue neutral on my supplies to date, and then in one fell swoop set up both vacuum (double my sap) and a simple RO system (reduce my boiling by 75%). If I could do both those things and pay all that off, it's possible that this could eventually turn into a little sideline that gets us a grand or two a year, given that I value my labor at $0 (which I do, because this poo poo is my entire exercise regimen for the months between "stack the firewood season" and "maintain all the trails and outbuildings season". Back out today, but my time was cut because I had to spend an hour snowblowing. This also caused me to swap out the utility cart for the "utility" sled (bought for our 2 year old but so far it terrifies the gently caress out of her even if I ride it with her down a 10 degree grade).  This thing is a beast, for the $75 I paid.  The polar loadout.  Everything looks pretty when it snows!  Basically all the lines you can see in this picture have gone up in the past 6 days.  Some light chainsaw work to clear space; I am progressively working my way into the woods and I may be into territory that the former owners hadn't tapped. I have not seen any evidence of old tap holes on the trees I'm tagging.  We are well into the time of year when I usually look down to discover my hands are either bleeding or burned; sometimes both.
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2019 16:52
|
|
|
Your right when it comes to tension on your t connector. Those tools do string it pretty tight. Ive just taken a water kettle and a small propane camp stove and dipped them in the boiling water through spout. I usually can manhandle the 5/16 all the way on when its warm. I did all the taps to t's inside.  I just couldnt stomach paying that much for two wrenches on a metal stick. I'd figure they say its 12psi coming out of tree so vacuum added would increase flow. http://imgur.com/a/jZgsWBR Looking at your picture, I have one lateral about that different elevation wise and it has dips and low spots. Normal flow when it wasnt shooting it out on the ground from a loose tap line  *sigh.
Gath fucked around with this message at 00:45 on Feb 14, 2019 |
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2019 19:30
|
|
|
 Made 25 of the 50 T's I'll need.  Okay this drop is really stupid. But, little grove of 5 real nice trees here, just happens to be on the downhill side of the mainline. So, up the tree we go. I hate sketchy things on ladders, so even though it was barely over 20, I went ahead and tapped all these while I was up there because gently caress doing that again. It's going to hit 38 today so I'll be curious to see if anything trickles out, but I'm not tapping anything else yet because it's about to hard freeze for another week or two.  The mighty 16g tubing tool, doing God's work keeping tension on this line ~12' in the air.  A completed drop spliced in. There's all kinds of poo poo you can read about the technically best way to drill these holes, but, when you're hugging a tree from the top of a ladder, you pretty much just try to go in level and pray. An annoying habit I've noticed: Because last year I lacked the cart and utility belt, I was in the habit of dropping my pliers and tools at every tree. Even though I no longer need to do that, my muscle memory continues to cause me to drop things instead of sticking them back in my belt. Perhaps all this legal cannabis we have up here is doing blurry things to my long-term potentiation.
|
|
#
?
Feb 15, 2019 19:04
|
|
|
 Yesterday was tank cleaning day; the only way I get hot water down here is by going from the kitchen sink out the window. loving with running water in 25 degree weather isn't great, but it's more fun than working! (I took most of this week off, partially with this project in mind).   Cleanliness is godliness. I also finished making the 50 new T's I need yesterday. I went around this morning and spliced them into the new lines. I had my wife and kiddo come out for a while and we drilled a couple taps together, but even though it was creeping into the upper 30s, it looks like it's still too early for a run, so I stopped drilling because of paranoia about taps cracking when it gets super cold again next week. Unless the weather ends up being a lot different than projected, I'm probably done with this thread for a couple weeks -- once we're a little closer to opening up for the season, I will do a test boil with water so I can see if my dual pan plus fire blanket setup works out.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2019 20:00
|
|
|
You and your fancy indoor evaporator.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2019 21:07
|
|
|
Postess with the Mostest posted:You and your fancy indoor evaporator. You should see the people down the road; in fact, I will take pictures next time I'm out. You can see what must be a mile or more of main line from the road, and just 2 summers ago they built an evaporator barn that's probably close to the size of our whole house. I'm sort of curious what the deal is; I know they grew some corn over the summer, but didn't see them doing that much else with the property -- but maybe they do a shitton of the labor themselves and are just running on good enough margins that they can make close to a full time living from it? Not sure. It definitely seems like a much more efficient and pragmatic and LARGE operation than some 1%er would set up as a hobby business, but you never know what people's deal is around here until you ask. I'm guessing that just the property taxes on the swath of land they bought to do all this are easily, easily more than 20K a year.... need to boil 30,000 gallons of sap just to recoup that, not accounting for the cost of wood (they are running full RO and vacuum at that scale).
|
|
#
?
Feb 24, 2019 18:49
|
|
|
My cousin came over and helped me today so we did one more 5/16s line with 5 more taps so I could hit a truly massive double-tap tree. We also set up the shack for the season, and did a test boil that was mostly water plus the 3.5 gallons of sap I got in a mini run yesterday when it barely poked over 33. Next 2 weeks look like poo poo, hopefully we start getting runs after that. I think the people a little down the mountain from us probably are already boiling, it tends to be 5-8 degrees colder up here.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2019 00:35
|
|
|
Tim Raines IRL posted:My cousin came over and helped me today so we did one more 5/16s line with 5 more taps so I could hit a truly massive double-tap tree. We also set up the shack for the season, and did a test boil that was mostly water plus the 3.5 gallons of sap I got in a mini run yesterday when it barely poked over 33. That's a trippy picture, like a "believe it or not, none of the lines are actually straight" illusion. I might get above zero next sunday and then that week is in the zone so boilfest on the 16th hopefully. I'm actually kind of dreading the warm up here, there is a huge snow load and it's going to flood everything.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2019 16:54
|
|
|
Postess with the Mostest posted:I might get above zero next sunday and then that week is in the zone so boilfest on the 16th hopefully. I'm actually kind of dreading the warm up here, there is a huge snow load and it's going to flood everything. It will flood our basement for sure. It looks like next Monday might see a decent run, but it'll mostly be super cold until then. A guy in town with 5500 taps told me that some of his main lines had been under 3' of ice and snow (and they're probably at waist to chest height). quote:That's a trippy picture, like a "believe it or not, none of the lines are actually straight" illusion.
|
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2019 03:42
|
|
|
Alright, like the Trump Admin, this was Infrastructure Week for me. Except, you know, I got poo poo done.   This little guy was how I got internet last year. The thing is, I've also got a LTE range extender and I actually tend to get better service tethering. However, I'm attempting to stream on Twitch this year because lol, so I need to get my bandwidth straightened out. You can see I've got hose running still, I think I did this in a way that will not break the hose, but we'll see.    A critical difference is that now the power terminates inside the shack. That means no more loving around with oil lamps, and also let me set up these tiny, overpriced exhaust fans. For what they cost I think I should have just gotten a big metal shop fan and mounted it in a more scary way, but we'll try this. I saved the receipt because these fuckers are $40 each and are for "removing hotspots over stoves", so I'm not confident they will do anything at all, but here we go. From my test boil I am surprised how much more steam I have this year with the second pan.   I ultimately used a product called Kaowool to bridge the gap between my two pans, it's a ceramic fabric that says it's rated to 2400F. It also says you should wear an N95 rig while cutting it, so safety first. Angry Birds hat is optional, but when you need to keep your head warm and instead of buying headwear you stick with the bottomless box labeled "Winter stuff mom mailed me, why god, WHY", there you go. It looks like another gallon or so trickled through yesterday. Also, I had a friend over and one thing he did was help me retension a line which was really bowing, and when we cut through it, it started gushing like an artery and I swear to god I just put it in my mouth and started guzzling before I even thought about what I was doing. Anyway, it was sweet, it's supposed to be 36 tomorrow, cold tuesday, and then weds-fri we're into "freezing at night, high 30s to 40s during the day" which should be perfect, and I am going to try to be super on top of this all week because it might not be a real long season. I had a long chat with a guy in town who has 5500 taps. He told me that he'd been up on the mountain the day before, digging out mainlines that were 3' under snow and ice. He also told me that in all the years he's been doing this he's never taken a paycheck -- he pays a staff annually, and he's increased the value of his business by investing in bigger boilers, awesome trucks, etc, so it's not like it's actually revenue neutral. Still, I would have assumed that 5000 taps was "money in the bank" and I guess that's not necessarily correct. He also said he's sandwiched between a 15K tap operation and a 25K tap operation, so he feels like small potatoes. I'm done adding lines, I think -- it would make more sense to add RO and vacuum before running mainlines deeper. We'll see, though. It's pretty easy to keep saying "gently caress it let's just go another 300'". It's been windy as gently caress all today and I've just been waiting for something to come crashing down on my lines but so far so good.
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2019 20:04
|
|
|
This is a cool thread, thanks for sharing! Being from California I've always found maple syrup production to be very exotic and interesting.
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2019 21:03
|
|
|
Are you streaming maple boiling? I am officially started maple syrup season with 13 taps in. 100 or so to go. I've been in cleaning hell, I washed all the buckets last year but left them outside, stacked and facing down but still dirt migrated into a bunch of them somehow. Definitely bleaching them and keeping in the garage this year so they're just ready to go. Should get the next 90 in tomorrow and then we are off to the races for this weekend.
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2019 21:19
|
|
|
Just coming in to say this is loving cool as poo poo and this thread makes me wish I lived somewhere that has maple trees.
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2019 01:23
|
|
|
Well, now it's looking like we might not get decent weather until NEXT week. Hope this doesn't turn into a non-season! Postess with the Mostest posted:Are you streaming maple boiling? I'm planning to, on twitch no less
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2019 13:49
|
|
|
every day for like the last 5 days, "tomorrow" has looked like a great sugaring day   I think this is finally about to happen, though.
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2019 17:08
|
|
|
Fyi, I have about maybe a week left here. Ive been told by other people its been bad. 78 taps / 780 gals expected. Ive just broken 300 gals sold. Unless there is a good cold and warm id say about half production. In WV. My season started Jan 30. Bulk rates will go up though...
|
|
#
?
Mar 14, 2019 15:43
|
|
|
Oh, and look at the RO bucket. Could save a lifetime of boiling if you have scratch ($300) that might be a next year thing for me.
|
|
#
?
Mar 14, 2019 15:46
|
|
|
Got 20 more buckets in, 33 taps total now. Really slow going with all the snow, 2-4' at every tree. Might do a little boil this weekend if the buckets overflow today and tomorrow. Next week looks great, we might actually get a real season here. Just need to get my 70 more taps in.
|
|
#
?
Mar 14, 2019 16:13
|
|
|
Gath posted:Fyi, I have about maybe a week left here. Ive been told by other people its been bad. 78 taps / 780 gals expected. Ive just broken 300 gals sold. Unless there is a good cold and warm id say about half production. In WV. That RO bucket looks neat and like exactly what I should get next year. It's into the 40s today, but no sun! I've got drip trickle drip but that's it. I can see the lines are full, it's just not moving much. It looked to me like I had several gallons of sap, so I will probably do a little boil this afternoon just so I'm not worried about it spoiling since some of it has been out there a couple days. But, yeah, sorta looking like next week or bust..... edit: Gath, do you have vacuum? The figure I always hear around here is 1/4 gallon per tap, not 1 gallon 
Cabbages and Kings fucked around with this message at 16:39 on Mar 14, 2019 |
|
#
?
Mar 14, 2019 16:36
|
|
|
Tim Raines IRL posted:That RO bucket looks neat and like exactly what I should get next year. Er, yes i think the 1/4 gallon is syrup if 1:40 2% After my initial 2% in January My sugar decreased to 1%. So 1:80 1%. This is sap not syrup im selling for clarification. USDA said they would insure me for 10 gallons of sap per tap/tree. Which surprised me. My expectation was way less. Also yes i have natural vacuum 5/16 blue tubing. I have good elevation so my collection is easy. Gath fucked around with this message at 18:19 on Mar 14, 2019 |
|
#
?
Mar 14, 2019 18:15
|
|
|
Got it, sounds like we have a similar setup, I have 5/16 but no power vacuum. I did pull around 10 gallons between yesterday and today and it seems like it's going to stay warm for 24h. I'm boiling to avoid spoilage, and yes, it's on twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/linearb
|
|
#
?
Mar 14, 2019 19:05
|
|
|
I'm up another 12-14gal today and it's been warm, so slightly worried about spoilage so I am going to do a little boil at 12:30 EST. Same twitch as before :-P
|
|
#
?
Mar 15, 2019 16:11
|
|
|
The season has been very slow here in southern Quebec.. I only was able to tap last weekend and haven’t collected much at all. Maybe 5 gallon sap from 50 taps :/ Weather looks to be warmer starting Wednesday for the next two weeks, other than some spotty rain/snow... hopefully it picks up.
|
|
#
?
Mar 16, 2019 18:30
|
|
|
Thrasher posted:The season has been very slow here in southern Quebec.. I only was able to tap last weekend and haven’t collected much at all. As you'd expect we're in much the same situation here in northern VT, I've gotten about 20gal from 101 taps. The big operations here are scared; the second half of this week does look good at the moment. Honestly as long as we get the 3gal a year we eat ourselves that's my big concern. It's starting late but it'll probably come...
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2019 12:59
|
|
|
Got up to 79 taps, breaking through 4 feet of soft snow even in snowshoes, legs are burning. Very slow here even on Thursday/Friday which were 3 and 7 degrees C, maybe 10 gallons out there, not enough to collect.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2019 16:16
|
|
|
Postess with the Mostest posted:breaking through 4 feet of soft snow even in snowshoes, legs are burning. That’s crazy deep.. I made the mistake of thinking an evening cold snap would harden my snowshoe path and went out without them.. post-holed to my waist.. wasn’t 4 feet tho, drat. Here’s hoping we get some good runs soon... weather looks promising anyways. 
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2019 17:49
|
|
|
My temps trend about 4 degrees colder than this station, but none the less, it looks like stuff is either gonna open up this weekend, or it's not happening :-S
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2019 17:58
|
|
|
AT LAST SOMETHING RESEMBLING A REAL RUN https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw0GHUhzvVU tinkle tinkle! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtC-0IxriiA Pardon my profanity, I was just excited that things are finally happening. Also, I just quit my job. edit: for another job. Not to become a full time woodsman. Sadly. Cabbages and Kings fucked around with this message at 20:00 on Mar 20, 2019 |
|
#
?
Mar 20, 2019 19:30
|
|
|
 If I had a fancier, single 3'x4' pan, what would happen is there would be 3 partitions and I'd pour into the lower left corner, and fluid dynamics would push the denser material down the track, and so you draw off what's close-to-syrup from the upper right. Since I'm using two pans that have one partition each, I'm manually replicating that drawing off from the left pan after it's boiled down, and then dumping that in the back of the right pan before adding more sap to the left pan. That's why the right pan is so much darker. There's some syrup in there for sure, and I gave my two year old their first taste of warm sap fresh out of the boiler. I hit 39 gallons today, 69 season to date. Another ten days like today and it'll be a normal year :-P I'm going to try finishing everything in the shack this year, on a coleman propane stove, so if we get another good day I'll see if I can draw off a pint or two. Cabbages and Kings fucked around with this message at 02:27 on Mar 21, 2019 |
|
#
?
Mar 21, 2019 02:01
|
|
|
Hell of a day yesterday, spent about 7 hours down there. A friend came over and we jammed some Magic; at one point the trapdoor under us gave in a we came real close to having a $700 Chains of Mestipholes fly into the fire. No damage done, though, this is why you double sleeve your cards kids  As I shut down the main evaporator, I started finishing much of what was in the right pan on this little coleman grill. We were boiling at about 217 degrees before I poured off, which is getting pretty close.   The first hydrometer reading is a little low; the second came in a little high. If I was going to sell this I'd probably be obsessive and try to get it spot on, but since the first 3 gallons are just for our use this year, I'm fine with syrup that skews a little sweet.    Next we double filter to get all the crap out of it, then can it. Previously I've always reboiled to seal the jars, which causes some amount of mineralization, but someone (maybe even Gath or Postess in this thread?) suggested that you can heat to 190 and get a safe seal with no mineralization, so that's what I attempted.  The first six pints of the season. It's surprisingly dark (the red tint is not surprising, because I think I've got a mix of red maple and sugar maple feeding this whole thing). It's delicious, my wife, two year old and I clinked glasses and had a toast of it. How's everything on your end, Postess?
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2019 17:13
|
|
|
Tim Raines IRL posted:How's everything on your end, Postess? Wow looks like trees are pumping there. I went and collected about 15 gallons from 20 taps last night, pretty disappointing. Stayed above zero overnight and not really running this morning. Sunday looks like a maybe? I'm not going to fire up the evaporator until I've got at least 80 gallons to boil so looks like next weekend. Can't believe how slow this year has been. Only one bucket filled up to the top out of 20 and none of the double taps to 4/5gs were even over half.
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2019 17:27
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 17:20 |
|
|
Nope, i havnt canned it before. Most things at very high sugar content are semi shelf stable... i think. (Honey/Sorgum) I got a call from farm service. Apparently im covered under crop insurance because of bad season. They are looking at giving me 13.5 cents a gal. (We did basicly 1/2 sap production.) I dont know how i feel about this. 
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2019 17:50
|
|