Our first batch of maple syrup is done! The weather is still too cold for the sap to run daily, but we did manage to collect 16 gallons during a few warm and sunny days.
The sugar content in sap is relatively low, so you need to boil it for a long period of time to remove the water and condense the sugars.
Click Read More below to see the complete post.
There are so many ways to cook down sap and it is fun to check out youtube videos to see them in action. The most important thing to know is that you do this outdoors. If you attempted to do it in your house you would have a big mess as the sticky steam coats every item in your home!
Last year we started out with a turkey fryer. When we figured out how much propane it took to boil down a pint a sap, we knew we had to find a different way.
A craiglist search helped us find a barrel retro-fitted as a stove for cooking maple sap. We were happy to purchase it because it used wood for fuel, but also because a young entrepreneur had made this as a 4-H project.
To protect the stove from the wind, my husband, Bill made a make shift shelter using selvaged wooden pallets.
He gathered firewood and when we had collected enough sap, and he had a free day, he stoked up the fire and started the process. After 8 hours he quit for the night and then cooked the sap for another 5 hours after work the following day.
The result was 3 1/2 gallons of amber sweetness!
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| Jars of maple syrup. |
The sugar content in sap is relatively low, so you need to boil it for a long period of time to remove the water and condense the sugars.
Click Read More below to see the complete post.
There are so many ways to cook down sap and it is fun to check out youtube videos to see them in action. The most important thing to know is that you do this outdoors. If you attempted to do it in your house you would have a big mess as the sticky steam coats every item in your home!
Last year we started out with a turkey fryer. When we figured out how much propane it took to boil down a pint a sap, we knew we had to find a different way.
 |
| Sap cooking in converted barrel stove. |
A craiglist search helped us find a barrel retro-fitted as a stove for cooking maple sap. We were happy to purchase it because it used wood for fuel, but also because a young entrepreneur had made this as a 4-H project.
 |
| Wood burning in the barrel stove. |
To protect the stove from the wind, my husband, Bill made a make shift shelter using selvaged wooden pallets.
 |
| Bill tending the fire. |
He gathered firewood and when we had collected enough sap, and he had a free day, he stoked up the fire and started the process. After 8 hours he quit for the night and then cooked the sap for another 5 hours after work the following day.
 |
| Notice how the color changed from clear to amber. |
The result was 3 1/2 gallons of amber sweetness!
 |
| The finished product! |
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