New Guy needs advice

[b-bros]

Date of this post March 26,2010

Hey all I am really new at this syrup making stuff. I live in northern central Mass. My brother had a bunch of nice trees to tap, some nice old sugar maples and at least 3 feet across the stump. (If they were to be cut which they are not) I got all of the tapping and tubing down. I built a nice evaporator with a gravity feed drip system and it works well. I can make a gallon of syrup in about 4-5 hours. I have got the boiling and bottling fairly down and am learning fast. My next step is making some candy, but that will be another post.

So my problem is how do I know when to stop collecting sap.
I collected yesterday and the sap had been in the buckets for 3 days. Two of the buckets were a little cloudy. On those trees the little red "buds" were just starting to come out on the trees. The other trees were fairly clear but no buds yet. I boiled the sap down and it came out dark and with a slight "nutty" flavor. Not a real bad taste but it is definitely noticeable. My other batches done exactly the same way on the evaporator came out top notch and real tasty addictive.

Could someone please explain what and how to look for it. Remember that I am new, but not un-learnable. I just want to learn correctly the first time so learning curves are avoided. Please describe it to me as you would someone who does not no anything about it. That way all of the questions will be answered. Sometimes experienced people take for granted the extreme knowledge they have and overwhelm the new guy just in common talking. Like I said I am not slow just want to get it right, and don't want to dump a full batch of sap out of being a newbie. Especially when the sap is so slow this season. Next season I have found a nice hill with over 50 nice trees to tap. So now I will have to learn gravity feed and pump to truck systems. My wife says I think I know everything so I am on my way all ready.

Thanks everyone and looking forward to your responses.

[PerryW]

So my problem is how do I know when to stop collecting sap.

It depends on what the syrup is used for.

If the syrup is for your own use, then keep boiling until you don't like the taste. Keep in mind that the stronger tasting syrup works good for adding to baked beans or other cooking uses. Even if the syrup tastes bad, it is worth something on the commercial market, but probably not worth the effort if you have a small operation.

Personally, I dump out the real cloudy or the real yellow sap because I'm trying to keep my grade up; but generally the yellow & cloudy sap happens because of hot weather. WHen the sap finally turns buddy, there is really no way to tell until you start boiling it and you notice a distinct smell. This buddy sap can be perfectly clear and can even yield light syrup, yet the syrup will have a bitter taste. If your sugar maple buds have changed noticeably, it is probably already buddy sap. I would also suspect that most of southern NH and Mass are getting bud runs.

[KenWP]

When you get buddy sap and syrup you will know it. Some trees the buds don't affect the syrup and others it does. I am trying to not tap budded trees right now to get enough good syrup and then I will keep makeing a bit of mersh for another project I have planned. that is if the trees keep produceing sap for me.

[BryanEx]

If you are seeing red buds I suspect they are not sugar maples but rather silver or red maples. They break bud earlier than sugars do with a noticeable red flower of sorts. As far as cloudy sap goes the guideline I go by is if I can see the bottom of a 5 gallon pail. If sap is too cloudy to see the bottom I consider it too far gone but otherwise process it.

[briansickler]

I agree red bud and new growth - soft maple....Sugars have tan or brownish bud and same color new growth. Sugar buds have sharp point.

[b-bros]

I know that 2 of my trees are reds. They are all budded, but all of my others are not. It is a little depressing I just got full buckets finally and it may be all done. Oh well what is the worse that can happen. I sit with a few good friends and fill the fire for 5 or 6 hours and reminisce about old times. My stove works pretty good it is 3 - 55 gallon drums welded together with individual pans on the cut out top I have a 1foot by 8 foot boiling area and it works well. A little more labor than some stoves, but it is fun. I do have a gravity feed drip system. Thanks all for the help I will let you all know how things turn out. Off to my mother in laws for an early Easter Dinner. YEAH WHAT JOY!