2016 Maple Syrup Run

The sugar maple grove is much cleaner this year

Black walnuts are also tapped

Maple syrup run has started in Southeast Wisconsin.  I purchased 10 more taps and hangers, so I am up to 20.  I have 14 on sugar maples and 6 on black walnut.  Saturday was a very beautiful day to get out and put the taps in the trees.  The day before we hit over 50 degrees in our area with extremely high winds.  The bags would have been all over the woods if I had them up any earlier.  I was also thankful to have some assistance with tapping the trees this year.  My daughter got involved with tapping the walnut trees and did a great job on her first time installing the taps (spiles).

We did some clearance with equipment around the fence line this winter, so we took advantage of the opportunity to eliminate the buckthorn that had grown up around the maple trees so thickly.  It was a dream to walk from tree to tree with the collection containers and not be fighting thorny branches at every turn.  I had to take my hand saw out and clear up around the base of the trees which was nothing in comparison to what the machine accomplished.  It also cleared up some of the larger fallen limbs and formed some decent mulch around the roots of the trees.

A family first

We had some help on Sunday to collect the first round of sap.  Friends moved back from California to the old neighborhood.  They had been watching the process via social media last year and were missing Wisconsin and the activity going on here.  I made sure to give them a call and let them know the sap was running.  It was great to have help with the collection process especially with the extra bags on the trees this year.  We all had a fun time getting around and exploring as well.  Their daughter wasn't nearly as interested in the syrup process as the exploring.

The sap has started off slow as the temperatures fell overnight and didn't come up much in the morning.  We had more rain than snow this winter, so we are also not getting that slow soaking with the snow melt.  You can see that the 50 degree Friday did not leave any cover on the grass at all.  I am not sure if this will affect the sap flow this year yet or not.

The kids leave the collecting up to the moms for a selfie shot

In all we ended up with about 15 or so gallons of sap from the 14 trees.  There was much less sap from each of the black walnut trees.  We kept that separate for boiling down separately.  This was done completely on the propane stove as there was less than two gallons from the six trees.  

Many hands make light work so we soon had all the sap back and by the fire for boiling.  I made a small investment in some deep pans from the restaurant supply store.  I also put together a wood burning unit to save on money on the propane investment. The wood had been cut and stacked last year.  My husband had a loaner splitter and was able to put up a full cord plus of wood last summer.

There is still some tweaking to do with the system, but I was able to patch something together with things literally laying around the place.  I put a bunch of holes in the bottom of a barrel bottom and laid it on its side.  Some old grating in odd sizes fit both inside the barrel to form a wood burning grate and over the barrel supported on cement blocks.  After the first boil down, we have decided that we need to add burner holes along the top of the barrel to up the heat coming directly under the pans.  These will have to be drilled rather than punched with a railroad pick though.  An piece of metal flops up in front of the opening to hold the heat inside pretty effectively.  Not a high efficiency stove, but the price was right.

I also purchased a hydrometer this year to measure the sugar content of the syrup.  I did not receive instructions so I researched on line for videos and such.  I thought I knew what would happen, but the hydrometer did not float at the level I thought it would when I reached my boiling point of 219 degrees.  It wasn't even close.  I will have to send some photos to the company and get a little help here.

All in all it has been a good first day of the 2016 season.  There are about 6 ounces of black walnut syrup in the frig.  It has a very nutty flavor that was worth the time and effort.  I also have two and a half pints of maple in jars with a smidge left over for breakfast this morning.  Life is sweet.

Birch syrup a small batch process

Well...

if you aren't busy enough take up a hobby.  I have been enjoying the country life and the opportunities it offers when you have the resources available.  On a whim, I decided to order 10 spiles and bags for a maple syrup run.  It has been a fantastic spring in Wisconsin for a good run.  I have boiled down over three gallons of maple syrup to enjoy and share.  I have made more pancakes in the last two weeks for various company than I have in the last year.  The Better Homes and Gardens favorite pancake recipe is in my head.  I also found that I can substitute soy or almond milk with very good results.  The key to good pancakes is make sure your griddle is good and hot before you put the first batter on.
 

River birch is just one of the genus that can be tapped for sap

Birch syrup production is more labor intensive.  It takes twice as much, if not more, birch sap than maple to make the same amount of syrup.  I have been using an electric roaster to do overnight evaporation of concentrated sap to save some time of sitting with it.  The syrup has a much more caramel flavor with a definite molasses side.  I have not picked up on any spicy notes in my syrup as some sites would suggest.
Needless to say, I have come to the end of my run.  After collecting over 20 gallons of sap in one day, I woke up sore and tired.  I have a full-time job running the nursery and greenhouse, so a hobby is not something I need in the middle of spring.  I promised someone birch sap on Monday for his attempt at birch beer, so today I will collect and filter today's sap and put it on ice.  After I get through yesterday's run, I am out of the syrup making business until next year.  I hear that butternuts make a nice syrup...

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?  


http://ohioline.osu.edu/for-fact/0036.html

Winter Farm Market at State Fair Park

The Winter Farm Market at State Fair Park is a busy place from 8:00 to Noon on Saturdays in West Allis.  The market is held inside the Tommy Thompson Youth Building right off 84th St.  Numerous venders sell a variety of items through April 14th.  Check out the link on Wisconsin State Fair page http://www.wistatefair.com/index.html.

I was pleasantly surprised to find winter root crops available as my onion supply had dwindled to almost nothing.  In past years I have not been fortunate to find these items this late in the season.  There were also a few fresh items (greens, herbs, etc.) from some new venders that are doing gardening under glass.  Mushrooms are also for sale in several types which come from a farm in Burlington.  

 There are also several items which can be purchased that have been preserved and bottled with a longer shelf life.  The mushroom farm sells pickled items including a portabella salsa which is very good.  

There are also bottled sweet items.  Honey, maple syrup, and sorghum are all available in a variety of sizes.










Meat, poultry, and eggs are widely available at the market from many farms which are a short drive from Milwaukee County.  Chicken, beef, and pork are the mainstays, but you can also find lamb, goat, elk, bison and other less common meats.  There are venders which sell cured sausages from some of these selections as well.  I was interested in butter and eggs this Saturday and was not disappointed.  I sampled some cheeses made by local dairies that will be on my list for the next trip when I have a few more dollars in my pocket.

I highly recommend a trip to the Winter Farm Market.  I have not mentioned every vender and available item so you will have some adventure awaiting you on your trip.  Nothing beats shopping in an environment that allows you to talk to the farmer that produced the food you are buying.  Don't feel that they don't have the time or don't want to answer "dumb" questions.  They are proud of their products and what they do.  It is a treat to meet some of Wisconsin's farmers close to home.