Our Maple syrup is a running

[MeatKing]

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The temps need to be around 0 degrees, not to sure what that is in American speak.. sorry lol

The sap, is when the trees are shooting the juice (so to speak to form buds on the trees, before they begin to grow new leaves)

Once tree starts to bud, the tree sap gets bitter.. We usually have a few weeks after the thaw starts.. Some days it runs like crazy, others not soo good.

Ideal temps are below 0 at night and above durning the day..and of course maple trees are a must..
I hope this helps

 

[MeatKing]

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Thank-you we sure will, my kids have never had anything but the real stuff.. lol were spoiled here

 

[MeatKing]

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Nope that's it, your not dumb, it's just too simple

Plus of course to boil it down...


What I think is dumb, is when you see orgainc in the grocery stores.. What do they mean? Nobody sprays their trees to make it run ect.. I'ts just mother nature doing her job, after putting us through he__ all winter lol

 

[woodmort]

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Once, many years ago when our kids were small, we tapped our 3 big maples and boiled the sap in the house. The syrup was good and we got enough to last us for about 10 years but the steam peeled all the wall paper off of about 4 rooms.

Actually we started boiling it on an outdoor grill then finished it inside but still produced a lot of steam. If I remember correctly the ratio of sap to syrup is someplace close to 50:1 depending on the trees. That's a lot of steam.

It is a big industry in this area--or used to be until the farms started to go under. Generally they start tapping here in early February and go through March but it depends on the weather as above, once the buds swell the syrup gets bitter. If you're interested in doing it you have to tap the trees on those days the temps get above freezing (32*F/0*C) but drop below at night. To do the best job you need to get maple taps, drill holes into the maple (most maple trees will be ok but the ideal is the sugar maple) at about 3 feet above the ground. 1 or 2 taps in a 6 to 8 in girthed tree, 3 or 4 into one that is a foot or so around. These taps have a place to hang the bucket so it'll catch the sap. If all possible cover the bucket to keep precipitation and bugs out. Collect every day and start boiling when you've got 10 gallons or more. The best way to boil is in a shallow pan, adding more sap as the water boils off so it doesn't burn to the bottom. If I remember correctly my DW borrowed a thermometer from one of her students so she could tell when the stuff in the pan was syrup. If. you want you can really boil it down to sugar--when my mom was a kid (1910's) they used to toss the boiled sugar out on the snow and eat it like candy--it was called dobache (do-BASH). Once you're done you can can it or freeze it.

BTW, the "syrup" you get at IHop is some kind of processed sugar cane stuff. What is called real maple syrup can be less than 100% maple unless it says that it is 100%, otherwise it is a mix of cane syrup and various amounts of maple. The best way to be sure to get the real stuff is to buy it from the producer. Vermont is the largest produce followed by NYS and Maine in the US but the world's biggest producer is Quebec, Canada. Most often too, it is sold as Vermont Maple Syrup regardless of where it is made.

Oh yeah, it takes a lot of fuel to produce a little syrup, that is one of the reasons the price keeps going up. That and the diminishing number of producers.

 

[rockinpaints]

Wow, I did not know all that....

 

[GarlicEater]

0 Centigrade is 32 Fahrenheit, it's the temp of freezing water.

Centigrade was set up like this: They took two points that are always the same temperature at the same temperature and pressure, the freezing point and the boiling point of water. Then they divided that into 100 degrees. Hence the name centigrade.

I have no idea where Fahrenheit came from, but we sure do like it here in the US, along with our oz's and lb's and all that.

 

[MeatKing]

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That's interesting, I was wondering why the difference.. My Mom used Fahrenheit, oz's and pounds in high school. She said in Grade 10 they switched it... Made it really confusing for everyone..

I have no idea where it Centigrade come from.. Older people here still talk in Fahrenheit...

What's really interesting, is when your watching sales in flyers or at grocery store on meat.. sale price is in pounds like say hamburger meat 1.99 per pound. When they weigh the packages it's done in grams and kilo grams.. Strange...

 

[BarefootMom]

So jealous!

I live in Missouri so no fresh around here. The little glass jar in the store of real maple syrup is around $7!! and you can't make too many pancakes with that! There is nothing better than homemade buttermilk pancakes with homemade butter...can't imagine what FRESH maple syrup would taste like on them. We love the $7 jars, but they are so pricey!

 

[georgialee]

If you go to health food stores they usually sell 1/2 gallons of 'real' Maple Syrup. It's around $40 but will last a loooong time and its much healthier than the fake kind.

 

[woodmort]

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This scale was devised in 1790's by a German named Fahrenheit. He used 0 as the freezing point of brine and 100 was the temperature of a horse's blood--water just happens to freeze at 32 on this scale. Centigrade--more correctly Celsius--was more scientifically devised using 0 as the point where water freezes and 100 as the boiling point. To convert F to C, subtract 32 from the F temp and multiply the result by 5/9ths. To convert C to F multiply C temp by 9/5ths and add 32.

As far as the price of maple syrup is concerned, if you think the price of a gallon of gas is high you should price a gallon of maple syrup. Last I knew it was around $50 a gallon from the producer.