Making maple syrup

tnborn · #1 10/26/05, 09:58 AM

Hey, I was wondering how to make maple syrup. Any good books to recommend or personal experience will be welcomed.
thanks,
tnborn

silentcrow · #2 10/26/05, 10:09 AM

My dad & I (before he passed) decided to try making maple syrup. We used a book called Backyard Sugarin', and about 10 taps, ordered from Lehman's.

We tried boiling the sap in disposable turkey roasters, over a fire, but it took forever! We ended up buying one of those turkey frying sets...it worked pretty good!

For collecting, instead of buckets, we used gallon water jugs. I just cut a hole close to the shoulder and popped it over the tap.

tnborn · #3 10/26/05, 10:11 AM

Thank you very much silent crow.

tnborn

Tracy Rimmer · #4 10/26/05, 10:46 AM

My family made GALLONS of this when we were kids -- unfortunately there aren't a lot of sugar maples out here in Alberta, but I sure do remember how we made it!

Drill a hole in the tree -- Dad used to drill it about waist-high, but I'm not sure if it was necessary or if it just made it easier for us kids to collect the sap. Insert the taps (as the previous poster said, you can order these online, from Lehmans. Old timey hardware stores used to carry them, too.), and hang the bucket on. We used to just have a nail in the tree under the tap, but I understand the newfangled ones have hooks on them.

Depending on how much sap your tree is running (some trees, in my experience, are better than others!) you'll probably have to empty the bucket a couple times a day. We used to go around before school and then in the evening again, pulling a sled through the bush with five gallon pails on it to empty the buckets into.

When you get your sap home, you want to filter it. Have another five gallon bucket waiting with an old cotton tea towel or peice of sheeting clipped over it. Mum used to use clothes pegs. Dump the first bucket into the second, and then unclip the filter and dump the bucket into a big, shallow, open pan on the stove top. Dad used to do this out in his workshop on the big old woodstove he had out there. I remember he had a big square metal pan that fit the top of the stove, and he kept the stove going through sugaring season.

The sap is pretty much clear, but as you simmer it down, it becomes darker. The slower the process of simmering down, the lighter your finished product will me. The lighter the syrup, the higher the quality.

When it gets to the consistency that you want, bottle it and boiling-water bath it for 20 minutes per pint.

It takes a LOT of sap to make a LITTLE bit of syrup, but it is SOOO worth it!

Good luck!

Tracy

Rita · #5 10/27/05, 10:03 AM

Hi, We have made syrup the last few years from red or swamp maples. One piece of information I would add is not to let the sap sit too long even in the fridge because it spoils. We had this happen and it's such a waste. We boil ours outside in roasting pans using our firewood. Rita in TN

Charleen · #6 10/27/05, 10:05 AM

Scott & Helen Nearing had a Maple Sugar Book that was informative. Lots of background as to why they were doing it and how. I'm sure you could find one on ebay or maybe someone here has one to trade?

sullen · #7 10/27/05, 01:44 PM

Making Maple syrup is so easy, even we can do it. We built a cinderblock fire pit outside, then boiled the filtered sap down to where we liked it. There is a temp requirement, I forget it right now. Friend of ours uses his gas grill, but we use wood, it's cheaper. DO NOT boil down syrup inside, your walls will be sticky forever. We use our non sugar maples for making candy, can't tell the difference.

PJ · #8 10/27/05, 02:09 PM

you will also need a hydromiter (SP) If you have a stainless steel shop in your area , they will make taps and pans for you, and they heat better and will last forever.

mink · #9 10/27/05, 03:32 PM

it takes near 40 gallons of maple sap to make a gallon of syrup so be prepared to boil for a while....lol theres a ton of maple syrup producers here in new york...mink

michiganfarmer · #10 10/27/05, 03:56 PM

I love making maple syrup! I make 50 gallons of syrup per year, and my neighbors make 2000. It is an awsome product, and early spring is an awsome time of year to be outside. Its nice and cool, and there are no bugs. The temperature of finished syrup depends on altitude, and barometric pressure. I set my automatic draw-off at 219 degrees. The faster you can boil it the clearer it will be, not the other way around. In the beginning of the season when sap is close to 3% sugar it only takes 20 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup. In the middle of the season it when sugar content is 2% it takes 40 gallons. at the end of the season when sugar content is 1% it takes 100 gallons. The more sap you can get at the beginning of the season the less boiling you willl have, and the better the syrup will be. Be careful once the syrup approches 219 degrees because it will foam over in the blink of an eye and you can run the whole batch over the side of the pan. If you try boiling it on your stove in the house with a big pan it will take all day just to get a quart...if you are lucky. Flat boiling pans like most hobbyists use work fine, but they only evaporate about10 gallons per hour. The one I started with was 6 inches deep, and 3 feet square. I had a second one made from stainless and it cost me 300 bucks, but it took my evaporation rate to about 18 gallons per hour. Last year I bought a small "drop flue" commercial evaporator(boiler), and that will make a gallon of syrup per hour. If you dont get the sap boiled down far enough it will spoil even in the fridge. I like to use both a thermometer, and a hydrometer. A hydrometer is realy the way to go for telling when the syrup is done, and they are only about $18.00. http://www.rmgmaple.com/
http://www.rmgmaple.com/

Pigeon Lady · #11 10/27/05, 04:43 PM

This is a great thread!

We went out and marked a bunch of maples a couple of weeks ago while the leaves were still on them. There are some huge ones not too far up in the woods. Can't wait to make our own syrup!

The lady who owns this site uses the sap straight from the tree:

http://prodigalgardens.info/march%20...tm#Maple%20Sap

I also read that you can tap birch trees.

P.

stanb999 · #12 10/27/05, 07:04 PM

I used foodsaver bags sealed at both ends and put a hole for the tap. Then I used wire to hold the bag. It worked great and was very cheap. They sell bags for sap but they are like 4$ a piece. These are heavy material and food safe.

antiquestuff · #13 10/27/05, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pigeon Lady

This is a great thread!

We went out and marked a bunch of maples a couple of weeks ago while the leaves were still on them. There are some huge ones not too far up in the woods. Can't wait to make our own syrup!

The lady who owns this site uses the sap straight from the tree:

http://prodigalgardens.info/march%20...tm#Maple%20Sap

I also read that you can tap birch trees.

P.

I believe only certain birches can. I heard some type of birch is poisonous to use for syrup. Maybe someone else here knows more about birch syrup...

desnri · #14 10/27/05, 09:07 PM

Can you use any kind of maple, like the Hew maple? And can you tap maples in Texas. Does it have to be cold outside?

michiganfarmer · #15 10/28/05, 05:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desnri

Can you use any kind of maple, like the Hew maple? And can you tap maples in Texas. Does it have to be cold outside?

the longer hours of sunlight in the spring tell the trees its time to send the sap to the leaves to feed the buds, but it also has to freeze at night at thaw(preferably above 40) during the day to stimulate them to push the sap up the tree. If it is 20 at night, and 40 during th day the sap will run out of the tree at almost a steady stream. This is in the north east United States. I dont know anything about any trees in the south, or southwest.