75 tomorrow..... then BOOM back down cold again.... seriously....

Maybe a dusting

It's o.k....I've spent most of this winter in a tshirt

I'm in Texas and was 85 yesterday. Now I get to come home tomorrow and see snow Friday. Won't be surprised if I get sick by the weekend.

yeah would suck.

I'm in Texas and was 85 yesterday. Now I get to come home tomorrow and see snow Friday. Won't be surprised if I get sick by the weekend.

Yeah! Cold!!! Hopefully sub zero...

75 tomorrow..... then BOOM back down cold again.... seriously....

 

This has been a pretty serious maple sap run period...down to 14 and back to hot again...sheesh...I'm not going to be able to boil it all down in time!

Pretty much a dud of a winter, I will take any snow we can get!

had a winter or two like this in the 1970's.

I want some snow this winter. My 4x4 demands it. 

Not enough snow or rain could put the region in drought. Dont forget that. 

Looks like snow is no mas.

KAB.......???

Looks like snow is no mas.

Bummer, was looking forward to some!

This has been a pretty serious maple sap run period...down to 14 and back to hot again...sheesh...I'm not going to be able to boil it all down in time!

 

What grade are you seeing so far this year?  Sweeter grades or just normal "fancy"?

What grade are you seeing so far this year?  Sweeter grades or just normal "fancy"?

 

We've only made 2 batches this year so far, about 1/2 gallon each time.     The first run was very sweet and light.    The second was even sweeter and lighter.   

 

For whatever reason, our trees have a high sugar content, so we're getting about 38:1.  Our first boil was 19 gallons and our second was around 22. 

 

We have 9 trees tapped.

 

This weekend will probably pump a lot and we'll end up with about 25 gallons of sap and I expect it to be slightly darker and slightly less sweet.

 

The last batch is always very dark and heavy...that's probably going to happen by March 20 or so.

Looks like snow is no mas.

Sucks for you again [emoji17]

Yup. Eating mac and cheese

If everybody goes out and buys bread and milk tonight the snow will come.

Yup. Eating mac and cheese

We've only made 2 batches this year so far, about 1/2 gallon each time.     The first run was very sweet and light.    The second was even sweeter and lighter.   

 

For whatever reason, our trees have a high sugar content, so we're getting about 38:1.  Our first boil was 19 gallons and our second was around 22. 

 

We have 9 trees tapped.

 

This weekend will probably pump a lot and we'll end up with about 25 gallons of sap and I expect it to be slightly darker and slightly less sweet.

 

The last batch is always very dark and heavy...that's probably going to happen by March 20 or so.

 

Here's the boil from last week and yesterday.     Amazing difference.

 

Mark, can you tap any maple tree?

More tannins vs less?

Better than ramen noodles.....lol

Mark, can you tap any maple tree?

 

Yes.  You get more sugar content from "sugar" maples but they all work.   Hard maples are the best though.  

More tannins vs less?

 

No idea really.  I'm sure someone has figured it out, but just as an observer, the warmer it gets during the day, the darker the syrup gets.     The best sap comes from when it's like 15 degrees at night and 38 degrees during the day.  

 

I used to help a farm do syrup back in the 70s and 80s and they never really had light syrup.   They also tapped a bunch of ancient trees, so the age of the trees also seems to me, to make a difference overall.   They would start sorta dark and end up really dark.  Ours starts out very light and gets a honey amber like above.  We only have one older tree in the mix.  It really makes a shit ton of sap though.

Yes.  You get more sugar content from "sugar" maples but they all work.   Hard maples are the best though.  

 

As a note...you can tap 8 inches or bigger.   Most of ours are 10-14, one is like 20 inches.    You can buy a spile and tube kit from Amazon for about $25.  The rest is just boiling.

 

I use a 60k btu outdoor cooker and a 15 gallon stainless pot.  It takes a good 10 hours to boil down 20 gallons.  We finish on the stove.

What does 20 gal get ya?

What does 20 gal get ya?

 

Just over half gallon of pure maple syrup.