maple syrup equipment

[Paula]

I believe i have never tried "real" syrup. Can you taste difference from one make to the next?

[wdswtr]

The taste of real maple syrup varies from area to area.  You could taste mine and then drive 20 miles down the road and get a slightly different taste.  Not drastic but enough as one could pick up on the taste difference.  A lot depends on the type of soil, if one is tapping sugar maples or soft maples or a mix of both.  Equipment and time it takes to boil the sap off till syrup is reached effects flavor as well as cleanliness of equipment used.  Clean tanks and gathering equipment is a syrup makers best friend.  Bacteria can grow rather rapidly especially in warmer temps, the more one cleans the better.  The bacteria however is not harmful as it is boiled to temps around 220 degrees but it will give off flavors in the end product.  Syrup filtering process can also have a bit to do with flavor.  There is alot of sugar sand that the syrup releases when its brought to boiling temps.  A good filtering process takes all this out of the syrup as well. 

[Paula]

Makes sense that there would be a taste difference

[RangerClay]

Not sure how far you are from DeRuyter NY but Countryside Hardware is one of the biggest suppliers of maple tapping equipment in NYS.

 

[wdswtr]

Not sure how far you are from DeRuyter NY but Countryside Hardware is one of the biggest suppliers of maple tapping equipment in NYS.

 

Maybe for a hardware store but not as far as maple equipment dealers goes. There are some mind blowing large equipment dealers with more money wrapped up in inventory than I will make in a life time all across NY. lol.

Edited May 16, 2013 by wdswtr

[Doc]

I used to be on the mailing list of an outfit called Leader from Vermont. They sold everything imaginable for maple products production. It's been a few decades since I last got anything from them, but back then they had very reasonable prices and they did have some products designed for the home hobbyist.

[wdswtr]

Just like everything Doc, prices are way way above value with maple equipment.  The cost of evaporators would make someone getting into the maple world sick to there stomach.  I am purchasing a larger evaporator this year and Leader wants 17,000 for a plane Jane 12 foot rig.  As does everyone else. I have a producer just north of me that spent 160,000 in equiment upgrades this past summer.  I have a buddy in Vermont that cost him 800,000 to get started with a 10,000 tap operation  4 years ago.  And people wonder why pure maple syrup cost so much.    I am having it Amish built to my specs for a 10,000 dollar savings.  A new sugarhouse being built as well.  This day and age Reverse Osmosis machines are flooding the industry.  Cheaper to buy a used RO to upgrade production.  The past couple years the advancement in technology from taps and tubing to gasification arches has been overwhelming to keep up with the latest and greatest news.  Anyone making syrup for years or just getting into it should visit http://www.sugarbush.info/forums/index.php? its a great resource for information, photos, used equipment, location of dealers etc.