First Ever Maple Syrup!

Thirty six and change years into this life, I joined a long tradition of Vermont farmers and made my first ever maple syrup.  There was a little trial and error in the process, but it is all part of the learning process.

We tapped a wise old Rock Maple in the middle of what used to be the cow pasture and what will this year be a Christmas tree field as well possibly a firewood landing (this one isn’t my project, thankfully).  A few drops fell pitifully into the buckets and after three days of perfect sugaring weather we had an amber colored twelve ounces of sap.  Anyone who knows anything about maple sap (which of course I didn’t) knows that maple sap must be clear and slightly sweet.  The bitter amber colored liquid was discarded.  DH and I discussed the neighbor’s daily yield of over 400 gallons; it was time to consider relocating the taps or giving up on this project.

Five of the six taps were relocated to another, slightly younger, although still well over a century old, Rock Maple and its companions a little further into the pasture.  We watched in amazement as the beautiful, clear liquid poured from the tap hole before the drill bit was even removed.  Three hours later we emptied half full buckets of sap.  Back to the house with 40+ pound buckets of what would soon be liquid gold; the sap was filtered through a strainer and stored in gallon jugs until the fire was ready for the boil.  Each day of good weather yielded just over five gallons of sap from the six taps. 

Sap should be boiled as soon as possible after collection to produce the best quality syrup.  Time and off farm work schedules provided me with one day per week to boil.  With only five taps producing sap, it doesn’t take too long to run out of gallon size storage containers.  Out to the barn we went, in search of something big enough and with enough surface area to evaporate the water from the sap.  No evaporator was found lurking in amongst the years of stored treasures; a ten or fifteen gallon washtub would have to suffice.  Washed and scrubbed clean of the years of collected dust, the washtub was placed over the maple fire on a metal grate.  In elementary school I learned that water weighs over eight and a half pounds per gallon.  I knew that the salvaged grate would need a little help holding up over 100 pounds of maple sap.  Back to the barn again, we found a couple of pieces of rebar which we placed across the fire pit to support the weight of boiling liquid.  Sap was strained through cheesecloth into the washtub and set atop the fire pit.

The first day we boiled, it was windy and cold, but standing next to the warm, delightful smelling liquid for six hours was not at all un-enjoyable.  On the second boiling day, the sun shown brightly, DH started the fire early and the boil began.  While boiling I was able to get a little yard work done and cleaned up some more stones which were deposited from the driveway onto the lawn during snow removal this winter.  Ten hours later and facing imminent darkness, the so-close to syrup liquid was removed from the fire, strained through more cheesecloth and into a 16 quart saucepan.  Inside to the stove top for finishing.

All-in-all this first-ever attempt at making maple syrup was a success.  Ten quarts of varying grades of syrup have been sealed into glass jars and stored in the cool basement awaiting a gift giving occasion or simply to be added to the Maple-Oat-Wheat Bread which we make every other week or so.  The first batch yielded what I would guess would be a medium A grade amber syrup.  The second batch was much darker, although I think tastes even better, and is a solid grade B.

A hobby sized evaporator will be in the plans before next spring and while a pipeline is not in our immediate future, we will be looking into expanding our sugar production a little each year.  Someday I might even have my own sugar shack.  This weekend; however, I will be having pancakes with fresh – HOMEMADE – maple syrup!