How's the sap coming in?

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baronrenfrew
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Re: How's the sap coming in?

Post by baronrenfrew » Thu Mar 29, 2018 9:54 am

Tom - that's why the big maple producers I've seen finish on an oil fired boiler - so it can hit the perfect "mark" and they can the turn heat off completely. much more challenging on a wood fire.
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TomK
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Re: How's the sap coming in?

Post by TomK » Thu Mar 29, 2018 11:47 am

treerooted wrote:
Thu Mar 29, 2018 8:45 am

First, I was transferring from one pan to another and managed to drop it into the fire, so I lost about half of it there. What I had left I ended up burning on the stove inside while finishing off. :gaah: So it was just me being careless!

My forest path is too wet this time of year to support our tractor going back there, so it's a combination of sled and wagon to get it back to the house. Probably the only solution would be a sugar shack in the woods (which would be awesome!), but I don't think that's gong to happen. If there's snow in the woods I can manage getting 10 gal + a toddler halfway back on a sled.
Yeah I can see that...still, a shame...this spring ia a weird one..the ground is usually frozen during sap run so I dont think my tractor would do muxh damage in the line i would drive along the maple ridge here.. the sugar shack is the solution of course but you still need to collect and transport even a little...i am putting in the following ndation for one this spring...not having one really limits the boiling time as both weather conditions and daylight dictate when you can do it...its not a big deal to build one... just make sure the footings for the walls are well done
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Brebis
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Re: How's the sap coming in?

Post by Brebis » Fri Mar 30, 2018 8:22 am

The local guys here have said they have had lower yields this year requiring 58L to get 1L rather than the usual 40:1 due to the lower sugar content in the sap. Explains why I was getting less too, and I just thought I was doing something wrong!
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TomK
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Re: How's the sap coming in?

Post by TomK » Fri Mar 30, 2018 9:00 am

Brebis wrote:
Fri Mar 30, 2018 8:22 am
The local guys here have said they have had lower yields this year requiring 58L to get 1L rather than the usual 40:1 due to the lower sugar content in the sap. Explains why I was getting less too, and I just thought I was doing something wrong!
Brebis, I didnt actually measure as I went but this is my third year doing syrup and it did seem that my sap yield was great yet the finished syrup yield was down so you may be right...I suppose that if it was a commercial enterprise I would be more concerned as the fuel required would be a big factor but in my case its just for personal use and gifts so I'm not too concerned ...interesting info though.... :running-chicken:
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thegawd
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Re: How's the sap coming in?

Post by thegawd » Sun Apr 01, 2018 9:44 am

we tapped 5 big trees, all destined to be logged... i wish i could have tapped all of them but logistics dont allow for that to happen. we used my new to me 98 Sierra pick up truck "most" of the time to get the sap home, other times we used a 3 wheel stroller. since im so darn busy i had it all stored in anything i could and we collected about 50 gallons of sap. Friday i started boiling half of it... like a day later i made 2 litres!!! i have 4 fire pots, 3 normal size and 1 is a turkey deep fryer pot.... 3 small on the fire and the big one on the propane stand. it took me forever to get them all in 1 pot. got more to do right now... gotta go! did i say i was up until 2am boiling sap friday night? LOL i boight some filters and filterd the sap once and then again before the final boil.... its soooo dark and has hmmmm ashes sediment or something in it? oh well its delicious! and i dont care!
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TomK
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Re: How's the sap coming in?

Post by TomK » Sun Apr 01, 2018 10:10 am

Al..I was filtering my 'not quite' syrup through a paper coffee filter but when i got to actually getting the right syrup consistency I found that it wouldn't go through the filter...so I just ran it thru the coffee filter at the same point as previously and then just returned it to a clean pot to continue finishing...clear as a bell and no sediment...and i had a lot of ash bits in rhe boils as I was doing the sap boil over an open fire in roasting pans....just a thought
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Re: How's the sap coming in?

Post by thegawd » Tue Apr 03, 2018 6:31 pm

well we pulled all the taps yesterday and finished boiling last night with 4 liters of syrup in total! Not bad for only our second time and missing the first half of the season. There is a big difference between the fire and the propane boiled syrup, everyone including myself likes the fire boiled better. it seems to have a hint of smokey flavor to it but man does it ever chew through wood. I basically burnt 3-4 days worth of wood which I didn't like much, I think propane is cheaper and a lot less work. We are all ready planning for next year! :-)

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TomK
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Re: How's the sap coming in?

Post by TomK » Tue Apr 03, 2018 7:22 pm

Al..yup...it does use up wood so its rather important to try to contain the heat..i have been doing open fire with a grill of old t-bars so,I know very well what you mean..i burn old fallen deadwood out of the bush...it kind of helps me clean up the mess and use the wood for a worthwhile purpose, not just burn it up just to get rid of it...so its a win win..but its all work..i find it enjoyable tho...and the end result is syrup and a cleaner woodlot...next year i plan on a homemade barrel type evaporator just for the overall ease and hopefully better output in syrup as well as a little easier on the fuel...and you are right, a big difference in flavour tween propane and wood fired boils... :run:
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Re: How's the sap coming in?

Post by thegawd » Tue Apr 03, 2018 9:12 pm

Man its sooo good! its kinda funny, all the work that goes into it which is quite a bit, the preparations, all the time, and all the fun out in the bush, the time spending with the kids gettin R done! all for 4 mason jars of syrup? no its for the memories and the good times. I love being out in the bush and so do most of my kids, they all spent a lot of time out there with me this year especially with harvesting fire wood.

over the last 2 years all the time I spent out there, hunting, working and playing, I did not see one single bunny, a bunny track or any droppings, nothing, there were no cotton tails back there. instead of burning the brush or dead falls out there I strategically pile them up building "bunny homes" I must have 20 of them that I built over the last 2 years. well having the kids help me for the first time this year I had them building bunny palaces and they built some VERY nice ones! We were working mainly in an area i havent worked on before. one day while we were just playing one of the kids noticed bunny droppings near an old pile i made and then realized there were tracks EVERYWHERE, going right into the brush pile! while tracking it a bunny came flying out and ran right by us, scaring the crap out of us! Talk about funny as heck! there are bunnies back there now which is awesome! it really showed the kids in real time how hard work pays off, in multiple ways. They enjoyed it and I enjoyed the help and the company. at the end of the firewood season I paid all the kids pretty well. I get multiple volunteers now! HAHA hard work does pay off, as little as it may seem, its much bigger than ya think.

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treerooted
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Re: How's the sap coming in?

Post by treerooted » Thu Apr 05, 2018 11:29 am

thegawd wrote:
Tue Apr 03, 2018 9:12 pm
Man its sooo good! its kinda funny, all the work that goes into it which is quite a bit, the preparations, all the time, and all the fun out in the bush, the time spending with the kids gettin R done! all for 4 mason jars of syrup? no its for the memories and the good times. I love being out in the bush and so do most of my kids, they all spent a lot of time out there with me this year especially with harvesting fire wood.
I agree, it's about the process and memories! Getting out to the bush more often it's nice to see the season changes and become more familiar with our land. And there's something so satisfying about making things from scratch; I've got a sweet tooth myself :drool:




I've still got the buckets up; we'll see if the sap is still quality. So far we've gotten about 6 liters, but I wouldn't mind some more.
We grab free skids from the city to use as our firewood for boiling; real firewood is too precious and must be used in the woodstove.
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