I did it! I made Maple Syrup!

[PineBurrowPeeps]

I just finished my first batch of Maple Syrup. I got 2 quarts out of the last two days of boiling sap! I am so proud of my bottles of syrup!

What a neat process!

 

[maplesky7]

Next quarts for me!!!

Fun isn't it?

 

[redhen]

wow! that is cool! i wanna try it!

 

[maplesky7]

go on then...and try it already. what are you waitin for? Christmas?

ha ha ha...why do I love sayin that to my kids?

 

[redhen]

Quote:
cause, it looks hard!..

 

[maplesky7]

fine...stick a nail in a tree and put your tongue under it and call it done.

 

[FarmerDenise]

Oh, yum, homemade maple syrup.

Now there is something I cannot make in sunny California. When I lived in New York we had neighbors who made it and sometimes we were lucky enough to get some from them.

 

[PineBurrowPeeps]

Redhen,
I really thought it was going to be MUCH harder than it is!
I felt really overwhelmed looking at all the stuff they claim you need to do it.

Really all you need is:
The right kind of tree
A hole in said tree
A tap stuck in the hole in said tree
A bucket hung under or on the tap in said tree
A clear watery looking substance called sap to run out of above mentioned tree (and I mean WATERY, when I first saw it, I thought rain had gotten into the buckets!)
Heat to boil the sap over
Patience because it takes a lot of boiling to get syrup
Bottles for your new syrup

Over the last two days I have boiled down 25 gallons of sap into 2 quarts of syrup. It is a very basic process that anyone could do. I have even met a person who does it in their kitchen on their stove, in small batches with lots of ventilation (there is lots of steam!).
Today we had snow and it's COLD. I'm not expecting much from my trees.

Maplesky, how do you guys bottle your syrup? I just did mine into mason jars.
I also can't find anything in books or online telling me how long the bottled syrup will keep? Do I need to put it through a canning process to preserve it?

Can I still use sap that has frozen? I suspect I have frozen sap out in the buckets right now. I hope I don't have to chuck it all.

I have three more books coming from the library but they had to special order them so I am waiting, waiting.

 

[The Chicken Lady]

Maybe this site will help you: http://www.mi-maplesyrup.com/Activities/activities_homemade.htm

 

[timbofarms]

Thats cool Congrats