That sugar looks great. I made myself some last year and loved it. With the tap expansion this year I want to make sugar again and try maple butter.
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That sugar looks great. I made myself some last year and loved it. With the tap expansion this year I want to make sugar again and try maple butter.
This is the video my wife used to make the maple sugar. It explains it quite well, although does not give the time periods for some of the steps.
https://youtu.be/cfZxs0rBffY
Instead of making the sweet liquid from the sugar on the edges of the pot like the cook did, she just out the pot into the oven for a brief time at 200° and the sugar on the edges became crusty and she was able to easily scrap it off and process it like the other sugar.
Today I will be making a new concrete door, I see that the other one is starting to crack. I will have a metal door next year. When I say make, is I drill two holes with a masonry bit into a patio stone, then add two handles.
I am also going to move wood around in the shelter to make some of it more accessible and replace it will full tarp walls, which will be removable.
I am also going to shovel off some snow from next year’s evaporator wood pile. I may only have four or five boils left, but likely only have wood beside the evaporator at best for three boils. This coming week I should have some good flow days, but the following week may not get cold enough at night to recharge the trees.
My next learning question is how many days can the sweet sit in the pan with temps above zero. As an example if I have four or five days in a row with temps above freezing during the night, do you call it quits?
Yes, this time of year you're going to have this problem. If you still think you might get some runs and don't want to drain the pan just quite yet, I typically just bring the pan to a boil every other day for 10 minutes or so. If it gets real mild you might do a daily boil. Of course you have to have sap. If you don't, water works fine too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Swingpure
Thanks for the advice.Quote:
Originally Posted by bigschuss
The long range forecast is looking warmer with night time lows above zero. I am hoping it will change, if not I might only have two possibly three boils left. Way too early to end and I will come up short of my goals, but we will see what actually happens. They have trouble, forecasting the next day. If it does end early, it will validate my early tapping though.
I did make a new door with a spare set of door handles. I moved the wood from behind the evaporator to a more accessible place to the right of it. I hung up the heat shield and hung a tarp to close off the rear. The evaporator is all set to start with paper kindling and logs at the ready for a light. Tuesday I am hoping will be my longest and most productive boil, but I will need a decent sap flow tomorrow to have enough sap for a long boil.
Sap left to right batch #1 to batch #7, and batch #1 and batch #7.
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0df-...mXa7pMBLv-7trg
https://share.icloud.com/photos/03fJ...cgBNpMRljUHn7g
https://share.icloud.com/photos/057A...g2Lv4b7Z0uFwQA
Just as a note, the line that I tapped on December 27th is still running as well as the ones I tapped on February 15. This is a subjective observation, based on how fast the drips or streams come out of the lines.
Crazy day with a few unplanned things taking up the day and shortening my planned leisurely sap transfer and collection day. I got home at 6:40 pm and raced to transfer and collect the sap. It was my largest collection of the season, 106 gallons. I finished in the moon light just before 9.
Tomorrow I will start boiling around 9 am, with the temp just below freezing. I have 156 gallons to boil and I will try and boil as much as that as I can. There will be only two more boils after this one.
I have collected 94% of the sap I personally collected last year. I was given 110 gallons last year at the end of the year. Counting that I have collected 83% of last years sap.
I am hoping for a long boil tomorrow, resulting in a good syrup haul. I have a long ways to catch up to last year’s total. Hopefully I will have my first multiple draw off boil.
Gary, I would draw off much slower. Just a small stream instead of opening it right up. When you open it fast, your float floods the pan with raw sap and it ruins your gradient. It's like starting all over. If the temperature rises above 7 don't sweat it, it's less time to finish it later.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Z/MAN
Thanks today I did just that, about three hours in, I just let it trickle out, then a couple hours later I let it trickle out and I stop it when the level in my big collection pot got to the level my finishing pot could handle. I drained the collection pot and there was still syrup ready to come out, so I trickled some more out until I saw the temperature drop, but after that it never came close to being syrup, before I shut down.
I just about used all of the wood surrounding the evaporator. I will have to cut into my supp,y meant for next year’s season. I have three boils left I figure.
I have enough sap to boil tomorrow, but it will be a lousy weather day. I see a boil Thursday, Saturday and the last one on Monday.
My line I tapped on December 27 is still running well. It just needs to last a week and it will have lasted the entire season from December 27 until April 10.
I will be boiling tomorrow, my third last boil. Today I was getting everything ready I could, for tomorrow’s boil with the exception of bringing a new supply of wood, because of the rain and thunderstorms today.
While cleaning out the ashes I discovered that the new, very heavy metal grate I got this spring, is slowly getting destroyed by the heat of the evaporator. It may just last the last the three boils.
I am not sure what to do for next year. I will check will my metal guy if there is a steel that would hold up better than what I had this year.
https://share.icloud.com/photos/03d0...g31zBA6mmAgj4Q
I wonder if I am boiling too hot, my fire certainly consumes the wood, and the firebox is very hot, but I thought that was the goal.
Monday will be my last boil and Tuesday I will pull my taps.
There are several threads on grates. The most common is to use angle iron in the V position as this allows the ash to fill and insulate it. I have unistrut in mine and is the same as when I put it in 12 years ago. I suded to have 304 stainless sheets protecting my insulation but the heat burned it out in less than 2 years so I know my fire is hot. The unistrut is galvanized and so far unaffected by the heat.Quote:
Originally Posted by Swingpure