After another 6 hours of boiling bed time.... But Attachment 11255
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After another 6 hours of boiling bed time.... But Attachment 11255
Mark I think some waffles are calling your name. :)
Yup I was determined too get some finished syrup last night Attachment 11266
I don't know why my pics are side ways..
OK, just tapped my first 79. I hope you guys haven't used up all the good weather while I was in Aurba. I will tap the rest tomorrow. We still have lots of snow in the bush and on the lawn.
Karen, your numbers are giving you a 58:1 ratio. This seems high. Do some of your other maples give you a lower sugar content? I think we only tap one or two non-sugar maples. So I have no reference.
Yes you're right SPM, (nice to see you back on the forum for this year BTW! :)), that's the correct average for my two batches. Pathetic I know. The problem is that the first batch was 70:1 because the sugar content was unusually low at the beginning of this season. I've never ever been below 2% except this year and was getting readings of 1.5% during the first sap runs. My second batch was much better at 34:1 as the sugar content in the sap was back to normal and I'd chucked some of the ice from my bulk sap storage container. Looks like your holiday in Aruba spared you the indignance of having to deal with record breaking poor sugar content. Good luck this season. Looks like Wednesday could get us back in the sap.Quote:
Originally Posted by SPM in King
This cold snap gave me the time to finish and bottle 5 gallons of finished light syrup and 10 jars of my favorite ....Maple Butter! Hummmm.Attachment 11325
Dave, if you can believe it, I'd never had maple butter before until two weeks ago when I saw some for sale at Costco. It was incredible! It's like spreadable maple fudge!
I'm thinking that I should find the instructions on how to make it and try it for myself. I assume that you are also waiting for the weather to warm up to get the sap flowing again. We've had a long enough break from all the fun.
Boil to 238 I think. Then cool in an ice bath to 170 and stir.
Thanks psparr. I can't wait to give it a try!Quote:
Originally Posted by psparr
Karen, we tried the butter thing last year. We made candy instead. I'm not sure why it did not work. It is not as easy as some would let on. I gather its the kind of thing that takes some practice and patience. You need a higher sugar content and you need to stir it to prevent crystals from forming (experts, correct me if I'm wrong!).
Let us know how you do with it. If you mess up, just add water and try again....
Steve, are you ready for things to thaw out tomorrow? Fingers crossed.
Karen, Cook to soft ball (about 232-234) and cool to room temp. or cooler. I leave mine on the front porch overnight. Stir until it turns "white".
Thanks for the added suggestion Thompson's. That's very helpful.
finished off what i had sweetened today its cold out.Attachment 11334Attachment 11335Attachment 11336Attachment 11337
got the gator down to the beach today maybe this why trees are slow runners
That lake shot sure looks cold. Even your dog turned white and froze solid. Nice looking syrup though.;)
Attachment 11339
Used the cold weather to finish off 6l of syrup. I sprung for a hydrotherm this year and it's really helping with quality.
Ok. Maple butter is VERY difficult to make and you must fallow the steps like a religion. First it needs to go to 112 Celsius. However you MUST boil water to find out the boiling point that day. It could be 99 or 100 or even 101. You must boil the syrup to 12 Celsius ABOVE the boiling point. Prepare an ice bath in the sink with ice and some water. Put your pot on it and leave the thermometer in it. Let it cool till 23 Celsius. Very important to cool to that temp. Also, DO NOT DISTURB IT!!! do not move the thermometer in the syrup or premature crystallization can occur. When cooled, I take a electric drill with a wooden spoon on it to start mixing it slow at first and increase speed later. If by hand your arm will be dead! Small mixer will blow out as the mixture is too tick. Continue to mix till the syrup becomes beige and dull. It will seam to be too liquid but it means it is time to poor it in the jars. leave the jars open for 5 minutes and do not disturb it. Then seal it. It is my 4th time doing it and this method was successful every time!
If you do not follow these steps you will end up with candy or just very tick syrup.
Dave
Dave, thanks for the detailed instructions. Maple butter is obviously a very scientific process and you've done a great job outlining each step of the way.
going to give this a go when time permitsQuote:
Originally Posted by daverobitaille
so when these steps are done is it kept refrigerated ?
oh and a litre of syrup becomes how much maple butter or does the maple butter jar size matter /does it have to be full
So much for that...9C eh? Never got above 2C here. Looks like next week is the best we can hope for...and yes, they are crossed (toes too)!Quote:
Originally Posted by Run Forest Run!
Hey Steve. I started to get a few drips at 7pm tonight. It was too cold here all afternoon, surprisingly, but warmer now than it's been all day.
This weather thing was all my fault. Sorry. In anticipation of a long day of boiling I made all my meals for today yesterday. I jinxed it. Should have known better.
Expect the syrup to reduce a bit but not much. Past syrup things moves fast from a product to another. It is better to keep it cold for a longer shelf life and freshness. If the syrup and butter separates, just mix it with a knife.
Things started off slow here. No flow until about 1pm. And then all hell broke loose! I've collected about 2 gallons per tap in the last 10 hours! I'm boiling like a mad man!
snow are you kidding
Attachment 11369Attachment 11370Attachment 11371
snow threw me for a loop
trees are wierd this year
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That's why they call it sugar snow! A few degrees above freezing plus the low atmospheric pressure that accompanies a storm like that can make it run like crazy at times!
Good Morning Everyone
Late to the thread but tapped 100 trees (all on buckets) Mar 9. As of Mar 23 have 37 litres finished (mainly all light). Have about 500 L sap from Wed-Thurs this week to boil today. Don't expect much sap flow today or tomorrow given the temperatures but early next week the forecast looks quite favourable. Good luck to all.
Cheers,
Paul
PS Earlier in the thread someone inquired about where to buy bottles, etc. Harvey Weber near Heidelberg or Reist's near Elmira usually are well stocked. I myself just use good old mason jars purchased at Walmart. I like people to be able to see the clarity of the syrup, with the wide mouth they are easy to fill when the syrup is hot and they seal well (my wife and I always giggle when we hear the metal lids tinking and pinging as they seal down)
Morning! Sounds good, I collected just over 150L from my 60 taps yesterday and have just over 300L to go through today and tomorrow.
I got 200l from my 17 taps in 48 hours ending this morning. Finishing up the batch today.
Got 700 l from 75 taps its gonna be a big day in the shack tomorrow
Wow 700 that's intense all my sap in buckets is frozen solid with this -15 weather...
Good for you! Just curious, over what period of time? That's a great haul!Quote:
Originally Posted by robinson lane
Lesley
Collected it mon to thurs pulled 495l on thurs
Holy crap! Sorry but that's awesome!Quote:
Originally Posted by robinson lane
Boiled yesterday
Bottled this morning wow its cold out
Attachment 11438Attachment 11439
Great looking syrup js4fn. I've got some stored sap that I'd like to boil off this afternoon, but I think I'm likely going to be wimping out because of the cold and wind.
just found this thread.. we are located just east of toronto so not sw... Hope I can chime in.
115 taps last year on buckets, 235 on 3 gravity lines this year.
We have done about 15 litres of syrup but it has been off and on...
Have about 800 litres of sap to boil tomorrow.
Gonna be a LONG day.....
Looking forward to a steady sap run this coming week.
went and looked at my 5 gallon pails they are full but solid blocks of ice so they won't blow away nah nahQuote:
Originally Posted by Run Forest Run!
Favourite beer, raging boil, good friends and mapletrader good night of boiling :)
M Reynolds. I have family your way. From mt Elgin and Ingersoll. happy boiling to you from woodstock,ny.