2017 maple syrup season has begun!

You can make syrup from black walnut? I thought it was just maple?

 

You can make it from anything that has sugars in the sap.... Some taste better than others... Over the last few years, we've discussed Birch Syrup and Hickory Bark syrup..

Hickory Bark Syrup -its awesome

Birch syrup . saps running early

 

This whole syrup making is just amazing to me. Does it really take 32-40 gallons to make one gallon of syrup?
I knew it came from trees, but I always thought you just stuck the tap in the tree, heated it up and bottled it.

 

Depends on the sugar content of the sap. Typically, earlier in the season is better than later in the season for sugar content, hence the discrepancy in the amount (32-40).
Some years, the first batches produce a gallon of syrup with as little as 25 gallons.

 

Here's the stuff I just bottled 8L tastes great!! I have a refractometer to test sugar content and here is a chart that shows the % of sugar to ratio for syrup I tested some trees today and they were between 3-5% which is insane 17:1 wish I had that all the time!

 

Don't know if I've ever heard it as low as 17! Nice.

 

Had one tree so far test 4-5% every time I emptied the buckets. I keep some of the sap in the fridge to Judy drive straight.

 

I was following right along that train of thought until that last sentence. Is that a local colloquialism?

 

Looking to build a drum evaporator this weekend. Looking for a couple insider tips - chimney out the top or rear? What material? Real stove pipe vs cheaper alternative? Trying to do this on the cheap and can evolve over time.

Can I skip a dampener for now?

 

Auto correct fail lol my phone always puts Judy instead of "just" lol I think it was suppose to be " just drink straight"

 

If your on the cheap go cheap as long as you get a boil going your good. You can go out the rear or the top for your chimney pipe. As for the damper I wood more air more flame hotter boil. If you have a shop vac with a option to blow instead of suck put it under the damper and then you'll get a really good boil. Before my blower I was at 5gph with it 9-11gph!

 

Well I haven't had much action this week. Yes haven't started to bud quiet yet which I'm happy about. I have 17L finished and bottled. But I need more then that!! Had a wicked Storm come through rained line cats and dogs and thunder and lightning crazy for February! I just hope the is more season for me.

 

Ton of beer drank er I mean a ton of wood used to make these little guys this weekend.
Weather looking good for more sap this week.

 

Awesome stuff Loon Liquid gold

 

Had a lot of fun doing it. Thanks for the pointers eh.

 

Ya I'm hoping for another run, I collect last week with my wife during a rain storm and got 60gal of 1-1.5% sugar then for the cold snap and drained off 33gal of 3% which I'll book off tomorrow!

 

Weather looks good for a couple days run here Farmboy but temp dropping steady after that.
Will probably burn starting Thur or Fri?
Have fun today

 

Where you located loon?

 

Yeah loon, where you at? I'm getting a hankering for fresh maple syrup!!!

 

Right in the middle of Toronto and Ottawa and some in the mail for ya yooper.