Southwestern Ontario

[Run Forest Run!]

Steve, are you ready for things to thaw out tomorrow? Fingers crossed.

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

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".

[Run Forest Run!]

Thanks for the added suggestion Thompson's. That's very helpful.

[js4fn]

finished off what i had sweetened today its cold out.DSC00008.jpgDSC00016.jpglake.jpgDSC00046.jpg
got the gator down to the beach today maybe this why trees are slow runners

[Run Forest Run!]

That lake shot sure looks cold. Even your dog turned white and froze solid. Nice looking syrup though.

[crazyjackcsa]

syrup.jpg

Used the cold weather to finish off 6l of syrup. I sprung for a hydrotherm this year and it's really helping with quality.

[daverobitaille]

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

[Run Forest Run!]

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.

[js4fn]

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

going to give this a go when time permits

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

[SPM in King]

Steve, are you ready for things to thaw out tomorrow? Fingers crossed.

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)!