Eastern Ontario 2015

[Galena]

Hi Lesley

Below is the link to the AgriCan maple flavour wheel. It lists approx 90 flavours which maple syrup can taste like, and for some years now my first batch is always a nice clear gold and though of course it tastes of maple, there is also a distinct undertone of vanilla and marshmallow...both flavours of which are on the flavour wheel!

http://www.agr.gc.ca/eng/science-and...=1231363888838

I doubt that store-bought maple syrup would ever taste as good as what we hobbyists and the mom and pop operations who sell their own can produce. I've often get people telling me my syrup tastes a lot better than store-bought; I bet many others here hear the same thing. You've heard of the European wine lake? Well, there's basically the maple syrup equivalent of that in the industry, too. I read a book called The Sugar Season last year, it tracks how the Bascom family of NH buys millions of gallons of sap and syrup...then sells it, blended and bottled, to major retailers. Odd that for a product that can have such a range of flavour, that they grade it only by colour...go figure.

As for the coloured sap, so long as it's clear and doesn't stink or taste bad, it's fine to boil. Some just dump it on principle, but I just call it tree pee and chuck it in with whatever sap I'm boiling. Usually it's just an indication that some rain or snow got in the pail. I found some just now while checking my trees.

As for 219 vs 220...if you boil too long at too high a temp, you get crystals forming in your syrup. They're still perfectly edible, it's just sugar, but that's a sign of a slightly overcooked batch. Sometimes if I'm sending someone a jar of syrup from a batch that has crystallized, I mention it to them so they know that it's perfectly safe to eat (so long as you don't break your teeth on them!) Last night I posted that I dissolved some of the crystals from a batch of last year's syrup with distilled water (as I had no fresh sap available), got the crystals out and dumped it in with my nearup.

Hope this has been helpful!