Maple Syrup Time

I picked up a new hobby this spring.  I thought about it briefly then decided to just order the supplies for 10 taps just to get a start.  It has been a fantastic spring to start collecting sap for maple syrup.  The trees have been running for weeks with the cold weather holding out to keep the run going and the sap running clear.  Even after missing the first big weekend, I have boiled up almost three gallons of syrup from 10 sugar maple taps.

In preparation for the run, I made a sugar shack for boiling the sap under cover.  It seemed premature without having splines and bags yet, but I had the time to do a good job.  My husband provided input and an occasional second set of hands to cut and hold wood in place.
The base that holds it all together is my upright planter that holds my Alpine strawberry planters.  The structure also provides a protected location for any early  

lettuce crops I may get out into the planter this season.  The same camp stove that proved to be invaluable for canning works out great for boiling sap.  Since you boil down 40 gallons of sap to get one gallon of syrup, you are boiling off A LOT of water which would not be good in any home environment.  You also have a bit of sugary residue that can coat surfaces inside the house.  
Unless you have a large refrigerator or lots of time and can boil everyday, you will need to have a way to keep sap cold until you can boil it down.

 I had a lot of snow on the north side of the house.  I stowed the jugs in the pile until I was able to boil down sap.  Until the snow completely melted, I was set.  After the snow melted, I cleaned out my large five day cold cooler and put the sap right in.  Adding a floating milk jug of ice added the cold.  
My canning kettles were the best tools for the cooking process.  I purchased a long stainless steel pan for evaporation, but the width of the burners didn't provide heat over the whole pan.  It does work on my stove burners, so it gets use inside for the final boil when I have larger quantities of final syrup.  I found a large funnel at a surplus store which has been invaluable for collection of the sap into the narrow jugs openings.  The jugs are better than buckets for collection as I have to drive out to my taps.  Closed water jugs do not slosh around like buckets.  I am glad I went with the bags as they have been good with keeping out excess moisture and are easy to use.  The jugs also keep out melting snow when you have them buried in it.  Some of the other items I gathered were muslin and cotton batting from my sewing room to filter out the bugs and clear up the syrup for canning.  A candy thermometer and digital thermometer for checking temperature of syrup. 
Seven degrees over the boiling point of water is the requirement for syrup.  Measure the boiling point of water while boiling your syrup as barometric pressure can change it from 212 degrees Fahrenheit.  

The weather has been warm during the day for boiling up until this past week.  The fun part of the cold has been watching the steam rise and curl from the sugar shack vents.  The cold has also made storing the sap easy once again.  I like to bring in the final boil which has also made the house sweet with the smell of syrup.  I have not grown tired of it yet.  I used our wood potbelly stove only once for boiling a portion of the syrup.  It added a smoky note to this batch of syrup.  I have chosen pints and half pints for canning it up.  Clean jars and hot lids are all that is required.  After fastening the jar rings down, you lay the jar on its side to seal the lid.  Enjoying the syrup is a sweet ending to a very satisfying hobby.  Now I have some taps in birch trees to try something different.  Why not?  


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