Yesterday we had a sapalooza!
I collected collected 850 gallons of sap and the person from whom we're buying sap delivered 175 gallons. I wish I had taken pictures, but throughout the day it literally down-poured and I just wanted to get the job done!
One of our sap collection points gets very, very muddy. I feared that the rain would make the area impassable, but I managed to get in and out (though saying prayers under my breath the whole way as I drove with 300 gallons - about 2500 pounds - of sap sloshing around on the back of the truck!)
At the other pick up site, I put the hose into the tank in the back of the truck and it popped out as I started pumping. It literally looked like a fire hose of sap going up into the air! I very quickly turned off the pump and got the hose back in.
This is yesterday's photo, but you can see how the collection tank is set up in the back of the truck.
After I got the sap home I ran as much as I could through the reverse osmosis machine and fired up the evaporator to get the sap boiling.
Sweet success.
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Successfully boiled and drawn off maple syrup
Yum,Yum,Yum!!
ReplyDeleteOMG!! How many more days will you guys be tapping trees? Another question for us don't-know-nothin'-'bout-syrup-makin' folks, how much sap does it take to yield a gallon of syrup?
ReplyDeleteGood grief. Such bounty! Just how long can a jar of pure maple syrup last in the 'fridge? Does it last forever like honey or does it have a shelf life?
ReplyDeleteWe're closely watching the weather and it looks like it'll warm up too much to collect sap by the end of the week (the trees bud and the sap gets a funky taste to it). It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup - that's a LOT of boiling! And maple syrup can get mold on top, but the sugar content is so high that if you take off the mold and boil the sap it's still good (the same as jam). I've had syrup in the fridge for months and it never got moldy, but I think you can occasionally get the yucky bottle. You can freeze it too and it'll last forever.
ReplyDeleteI saw on dr momi's blog that she canned her maple syrup. That's a great idea! It has such a high sugar content that's it's similar to canning jelly. We put it in the bottle when it's hot so we're essentially "canning" it.
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