Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Property Projects & Construction Making Maple Syrup

Somehow just saw this thread... Very cool! We have a handful of sugar maples on our hunting property in PA. Only a couple are probably large enough to be worth tapping. We have a few more larger red maples, but I don't think they have a high enough sugar content to make it worth tapping. I could never get into using the fake stuff on my pancakes and waffles.

Thanks everyone. I know it wasn't the least bit related to ponds, but things were a little slow on the forum so I thought I would share the experience. I appreciate everyone's patience and encouragement.

Tony,
I disagree, the Higher Cause and Spirit you demonstrated is exactly what PondBoss is to me. You took the time to honor the past and teach traditional values to your family and you were kind enough to let us be part of that. So much of today is fast paced, prepackaged, or on some little screen. What you did was to remind us all about the gift of creating something and being able to appreciate true craftsmanship. Thank you for sharing and reminding me to slow down a bit and enjoy the process.

Maple syrup thread was entertaining and informative. Nice job and well done.

I enjoyed it, you made me want to go start tapping birch since there no maple around.

This is a project on your property so it is very much deserving to be in the "Property Projects & Construction" forum. I've certainly enjoyed the read.

Got a call yesterday, so I picked up mine today.

Nice looking containers. I have a half gallon coming when I get to northern Wisconsin in May. My relatives make over 200 gallons on a good winter. They use the my uncles old milk cooler to do the cooking in. If I get back there this year when I am up there I will take a picture of the setup. Over 600 trees tapped and hoses to collect it all with. No buckets use there.

Container wars.....maple syrup style.





My wife printed the labels on the computer just to get some idea of what we wanted to have made for next year. She took some to work with her to get some other opinions, and sold all the extra we had....apparently people love these for gift-giving. We did have a request to add "Freedom, IN." somewhere on the label, which we will do for next year. Never dreamed there was such a demand for this stuff.

Something tells me I will be ramping up production next year.

Dang Tony, I like it!

I'd put something on there for the people who have to to contact you if they so desire. Even a small white stick-on label on the back side with a phone number, e-mail addy or something like that. That's what the amish do that I buy from. They take orders a year in advance, and fill those orders first before selling any. That way they know how much they have to make at a minimum. You just can't show up at their house to buy some. Only after they get all their customers taken care of will they put out a "Maple syrup for sale" sign.

I love this thread!!! And if I had Maple trees, I'd try it .

I didn't make any this year, and now I gained 4 pounds this March! Haven't been getting enough exercise. Normally busting my hump lugging sleds, wood, and buckets. *sigh*

Was it Jimmy Dean that said/sang "sugar is sweet and so's maple surple"?

You're close Dave.

"They say roses are red, violets are purple:
sugar is sweet and so is maple syruple.

I'm the seventh, out of seven sons:
my pappy was a pistol I'm a son-of-a-gun."

"Dang Me", by Roger Miller.

Yep, "They oughta take a rope and hang me".

Tony, Scott and I were wondering about the weight of a gallon of sap. I guess the sugar content would make it vary, but what would you guess?

To be legally called syrup, a gallon should weigh 11.3 lbs. That's at 66 brix.

If anyone would like to trade a small amount of their maple syrup for my homemade passion fruit jelly, just let me know.

Got it. Now, what's brix?

Brix refers to the sugar content of a liquid. One degree of brix equals 1 gram of sugar in 100 grams of liquid.

New cupola on sugarhouse. A door on each side, hinged at the bottom. Spring loaded to break open initially, and then gravity takes over. A system of ropes and pulleys inside the sugarhouse allows one to open and close the doors in increments. Hoping it's a big improvement over last year.

That looks much better than having to wear a rainsuit indoors!!

Because of the steam during the cooking process?

Very nice work Tony.

Yes. I think it's something like 30-50 gallons of sap to one gallon of syrup. I think it all depends on the sugar content of the sap.

I made syrup one year just to see how hard it was, and lets just say that if you aren't going to make a bunch of it and sell it, it's cheaper to go buy it. I didn't have to worry about running the humidifier for a while, even with the range hood venting outside from over the stove.

Al, the next time you talk to Dave, ask him how real maple syrup compares to store bought stuff. I sent him a sample last year, and I also sent a sample out to Hawaii to roadwarriorsvt.

I upped my standing order for this year to 5 or 6 gallons with the Amish family that I get mine from. They have a huge tank on a wagon that is pulled by 4 draft horses to collect the sap. They've been making syrup since the early 1970's. Last year was the latest they've ever made syrup. Their record keeping system was interesting to see - they just wrote on the inside wall of the sugar shack when they started for the year, how many gallons they made per day, and when they stopped making syrup that year.