My first small run.

[superchunk]

Got me some stainless steam pans and boiled down 12 gallons today. I filtered it before final boil and filtered it again afterwards. I got about 1.25 quarts. It tastes really good and is very sweet. Unfortunately my wife just informed me we have no pancake mix for breakfast tomorrow! Noooooo!

[KV Sappers]

Good for you. Now your sanity starts. Syrup is good on oatmeal, French toast, waffles, ect. ect. ect. Honestly maple syrup is good on anything.

[Mille705]

We make 40-50 gallons a year and I can not stand pancakes or waffles. Plenty of uses for syrup.

[barnbc76]

There are things called cook books you can use to make homemade pancakes, not that much more difficult than making syrup...lol

[Woodsrover]

Scratch-made pancakes > box pancakes!

[superchunk]

I dont know much about cooking. My wife said she didn't have the stuff to make pancakes. Whether she makes them from scratch or whatever I don't know. All I know is I'm not having pancakes.

[maple flats]

Do you have a Betty Crocker Cookbook, most homes do. In there you will find a good recipe. I'm sure not a cook, but I was the pancake cook in our house for years.
If you can't get the pancakes (or waffles), add the syrup to almost any other hot breakfast.

[whity]

Tastes great in your morning coffee!

[red dorakeen]

I know pancakes would be best but since I can't have pancakes or waffles every morning I use a little syrup in my oatmeal.

[ihuntbear]

u can always take a trip to the store and buy some mix...just my 2 cents

[Snappyssweets]

We make 40-50 gallons a year and I can not stand pancakes or waffles. Plenty of uses for syrup.

Mille you just made my day.

I love maple, yet I detest pancakes or waffles either one.
I was just thinking last night. I wonder if I am the only one who would rather eat tree bark than a pancake. :lol:

[superchunk]

I found a recipe online, made up some batter, scorched the first 4 pancakes and ended up making about 4 good ones. The syrup tasted great on them.

[barnbc76]

Mille you just made my day.

I love maple, yet I detest pancakes or waffles either one.
I was just thinking last night. I wonder if I am the only one who would rather eat tree bark than a pancake. :lol:
I've not ever met someone who so thoughoughly detests pancakes, just curious is it because of someone who did not make very good ones...ive had lousy pancakes that weren't worth eating but many times there seems to be a correlation between the person making said food and how good it tastes since i have been married i have noticed i like many things i never did just because my wife is a better cook in with most things than my mother used to.

[Snappyssweets]

Barnbc76, I have thought of it over the years as my family loves them.
No real idea unless it is the fact that as a very young child my grandfather whom I spent the day with most days. Always made side bacon, pancakes and eggs for breakfast. From the time I can remember which is back to about a year and a half old, I would go have breakfast with him. I loved them.

As I grew older I simply got to the point eating a pancake became a chore. The older I got the worse it became. I have eaten a lot of different ones over the years. From Military and way too many restaurants to count, ( I am a retired truck driver) to many different people I know who have cooked them. Same with waffles. Just something about the texture really makes my stomach flip just thinking about them. Worst is the darn things always smell good so I keep trying them. To top that off I also cooked in restaurants at one time so I actually love to cook and everyone loves my pancakes and waffles. Well everyone other than me. ;)

[superchunk]

Today I finished my second small run. I started 11 days ago when I boiled down another 12 gallons and refrigerated the sap until I could finish it today. This time I noticed that the sap I pulled from the fridge looked significantly darker than the first batch. After final boil it only yielded 1.5 pints instead of 2.25 that I got from the first batch. So I assume that the second batch had a lower sugar percentage even though all the sap came from the same tree.

In both cases I boiled to 219 degrees. What I can say is that the second batch is definitely darker and to my palate seems to have more maple flavor versus the lighter colored syrup from the first batch. I thought the first batch was really good but this batch is even better. Shame it didnt yield as much.

[Cedar Eater]

Refrigerating the sap for that long is pushing it. Sap keeps about like milk. The darker color, lower sugar, and more mapley flavor are all indications that the sugar was being consumed by bacteria.

[superchunk]

Bacteria would make it have a richer maple flavor? I knew 11 days was stretching it but I thought I had read that I should boil it within 2 weeks so I thought I'd be good. I guess that even if it had started to get a little bacteria the fact I boiled it to 219 should have killed it all. No harm in us eating it right? Not like it lasts long anyway with my kids.

[Cedar Eater]

Bacteria would make it have a richer maple flavor? I knew 11 days was stretching it but I thought I had read that I should boil it within 2 weeks so I thought I'd be good. I guess that even if it had started to get a little bacteria the fact I boiled it to 219 should have killed it all. No harm in us eating it right? Not like it lasts long anyway with my kids.

Oh yeah, you killed the bacteria, but you had to boil a lot more sap to get the same amount of sugar. So everything that the bacteria didn't eat gets concentrated and you get more flavor.

[mellondome]

Bacteria ate the rest of the sugar.