Interesting read for me,,,,other ever try it ???

[TerryEspo]

This is a quote from another post,,,from Snowy Maple. I love the idea as I have a woodstove always going in my garage


In previous years, I would collect sap from a few trees and put it in big 2 gallon pots on my indoor woodstove. I'd add to this continuously for a week or two, slowly evaporating 1-2 gallons per day. Kept the house nicely humidified, and over time, would become syrup. It made some of the lightest syrup I've ever seen - delicious too! I never had a rolling boil when doing this which is why it wouldn't darken as much.

Will this work for me ? Can the sap sit for a week really in a pot if it is being reduced ? I do let the fire die though in garage and re-light the next a,m,,,,but there is always coals and some warmth.

I would like to try 20 gallons of sap over 7-8 days in the garage on low and slow.

Any info is appreciated.

Thanks.

Terry

[jrmaple]

That's how I used to do it, then I switched to using lasagna pans because it added more surface area. It goes really slow, but it works well and makes great syrup. The only issue I had was that I left it on over night when it was close to finishing and ended up burning a batch. If you use the thin lasagna pans I would recommend doubling them up one on top of another. Good luck.

[Run Forest Run!]

Terry, while I've no experience with the low and slow method, can I make a suggestion about the pan to use? I tried disposable lasagna pans last year and found two things. First, I thought that doubling up the lasagna pan would help shield the top pan from scorching. What actually happened was that I burned out the bottom of the lower pan within about 20 minutes. I'm talking about a giant hole, not just some pinholes.

Second, the acid in the sap immediately started eating away at the finish on the aluminum pan. I could rub it off with my finger after my syrup was done. It made me second guess using disposable trays and instead I found a great deal on a new large stainless roasting pan. I paid $25 at a local hardware store. It would clean up like a dream after each batch of syrup and there was no chance of some funky metal flavour. I wonder if letting sap/syrup sit in aluminum for a week would be a good idea? I'd have no worries about letting a stainless steel roasting pan sit for that long.

[Snowy Pass Maple]

Glad to see someone is interested in trying this method - I should have mentioned a couple other points -

I have a Woodstock Fireview soapstone stove - top surface doesn't get much over 600-700 so you never hear it boiling - but you can see steam coming off. A steel plate stove may get hotter, in which case just put some spacers or something, but I think it would be really hard to burn syrup on any type of woodstove. Big difference from flames hitting the pan directly! A few years back, I used a Calphalon aluminum pot and never noticed any problems, but more recently, have used stainless steel stock pots since I was also making birch syrup. You could also try the stainless steel restaurant buffet pans which are pretty cheap to order online.

I have also never had any issue with things getting sticky around the stove as can happen when you have a rolling boil.

Let us know how it works out!

[TerryEspo]

I just think that a continual pot simmering in the garage or house even, is very neat, what a conversation piece. It would have a very pleasant smell also.
If I put one in the house my wife would think I went over the edge !!
I for sure are going to try it this year, low and slow I go !! I will keep track of how much total I put in all together say over a week or so.

No aluminum pots here for syrup, I use some for my warm water though to sit on stove or arch.

Cant wait for the sap to run !!

Terry