Topic: Maple syrup season again!

[idolminds]

OMG Pictures!

We decided to do it this year (we skipped the last year or two due to the weather). Trees were tapped on Friday and we already have ~50 gallons of sap. Which sounds like a lot, but it takes 40 gallons for every 1 gallon of syrup. But after only 2 days thats quite a bit. Today it was cold and dreary so the trees were running slow, which is good since we had to get the boiling started or we'd run out of room to store the sap! We've got two 32 gallon garbage cans to store the stuff, one is already full and the other is at least half. And yes, those cans are only used for this and we wash them out with bleach. We've had people ask.

So yeah, good times. Now we just need to collect wood to keep the fire going for the boil.

[PyroMenace]

Awesome, how long does it need to boil? And what else do you need to do to it to turn it into syrup?

[Quemaqua]

Haha, great pictures, man.  Wish I could be out there to help.

[idolminds]

Boiling time is hard to determine. What we usually do is to keep adding sap back in as it boils down so its one long continuous batch instead of a bunch of individual batches. So it takes several days to boil down. Eventually it gets to the point where we take if off the outdoor fire and finish it on the stove inside. More controlled so we avoid burning it.

And there is really nothing more you do to it to make syrup. You just boil a lot of water out of it which concentrates the sugar. You don't have to add anything.

[idolminds]

Its been several days since the last update so heres where we are. The weather warmed up considerably, which is nice. The snow is gone and despite some rain the other day the ground has actually begun to dry out. While this is good news for human comfort, its bad news for syrup. Without the warm/cold fluctuation the sap has pretty much stopped flowing. We'll probably pull the taps this weekend.

So now we just boil down what we have. In the end we'll probably have a gallon or so of syrup. The main boiling is already done and all of it now fits in the boiling container. We've taken if off the fire and its now on a propane burner so we have more control over the heat to prevent scorching or burning. Should only be a couple more days until its all done.

[Quemaqua]

Woo!

[shock]

I'm strangely interested in this.

[Ghandi]

We need waffle pics

[Raisa]

can i buy some off you?

[idolminds]

Probably not. We don't generally make a lot, so we usually keep it for ourselves.

[ren]

What about me, can I buy some off you?

[Quemaqua]

He's bringing some for me.  You moochers get your own syrup dealer.

[Raisa]

Probably not. We don't generally make a lot, so we usually keep it for ourselves.

hmph, i hope it makes you fatter.

[Ghandi]