Tiz the season

[jppierson]

Reducing the maple sap from my side yard trees.... and getting about 25:1 those 6 taps will produce just enough to get through the year!

[RJT123]

If ya have any extra, I'm close enough to be your new best bud.

[Robert Adams]

Yumm. That stuff is priced like liquid gold.

[TangoTwo]

25 to 1! Must have a high sugar content. Still got snow up there?

Ken

[jppierson]

No snow, but winter isn't over yet (calendar doesn't apply). A friend of ours in her 90s says she has seen snow here every month of the year! Personally, I've only been here since 2009, so the only month's it hasn't snowed is June-August.

Rear maple syrup is pretty sweet and the fake stuff can't hold a candle to it. I think it can be one of those things in life where you don't miss it until you've tried it... So far this year I've put up 1.5 quarts (given one pint away already). I've boiled down 16.5 gallons of sap to about 10 quarts of in-process in the past couple days . Each tap is producing about .7 gallon per day. So I'm hoping the weather will stay cold at night and warm during the day for another week, the 10 day forecast is looking good for a long season! I will have to take at least one day off in hopes of going to Saratoga for the woodworking show next weekend.

[Cecil]

TangoTwo said:

---

25 to 1! Must have a high sugar content. Still got snow up there?

Ken

---

Got snow here. It was gone before today

Only a dusting though.

[Steve N]

I bet that tastes better than bottled, but being Diabetic I'm not even sure if the stuff I use actually has any real syrup in it. Probably some lab brewed junk to make it sugar free. I'd probably have a coma coming if I ate yours, I'm still envious

[bennybmn]

I love the smell of a good sugaring operation! I helped a friend do it in his driveway a few times in high school (in Vermont). Nowadays, I have my mom grab me a pint from Ted's Barber shop before they come for a visit. It's local Vermont stuff, cheaper than any store down here, and can't be beat!!

[jppierson]

I put up another 2 qts today and getting 33:1. But then again the color is a little darker closer to what is graded as medium amber. As I understand things the earlier in the season the sweeter the sap, so it takes more sap later and you get a darker color/more intense flavor (which I prefer). Some research I've done indicates that trees in the open with less competition are generally sweeter, which explains the ratios I am getting. Still hoping for an extended season.