What type of pot should I boil in?

[teedo757]

Well I got some sap and have boiled 2 batches on my stove but not that the sap is running I am looking for a way to speed up evaporating. I grabbed my dads deep frier and started a 5 gallon batch at about 7p.....fast forward to 10p and I only boiled about 3 gallons away and used about 1/2 tank of propane. Now I am thinking about utilizing my fire pit and boil on an open flame. I have heard that some types of metal pans can taint the flavor....what type of pot should I buy to boil or can I just use the deep frier pot? Thanks for the help.

Travis

[happy thoughts]

Go for the pot with the biggest surface area that fits your fire. On a fire pit, rectangular steam table pans should work. A full size pan has about 2 square feet of surface area. These pans are usually stainless steel but any pot will work. The hotel pans are used by many of us here on concrete block arches. You might want to take a look at some of those threads especially if you have a supply of free or low cost wood.

The only metal I think that might taint the flavor is cast iron because of possible rusting. On the pro side, it also could add iron to your diet :) Some people on this forum have said they can taste aluminum in syrup made in aluminum pots but I've never tasted syrup made that way so can't tell you from my own experience.

[teedo757]

Thanks for the response. I will take a look to see if I can find some cheap chafer pans or some large square pans. I only tapped a few trees so I am not boiling off a lot (10 gal) I just want to speed up the boiling process.

[PerryW]

Yes, wood fired is the way to go, but you can also round up a bunch of camp stoves (propane or white gas), grab every pot in the house and get as many stoves going as you can and start reducing the volume of your sap in a hurry.

[Troutman10]

About anything should work. Just don't make the wife/gf upset with you by using something you're not supposed to use.