Maple sugaring

[WNYBuckHunter]

A little after 4am and I just added the last of the sap to the pot. It’s not doing too bad, I started around 1:30 yesterday and had 23-24 gallons of sap and there’s 5 gallons in the pot currently boiling. I’m thinking an hour or two more and I should have it down far enough that I can let it cool down and put it in the fridge to filter and finish after I get some sleep. 
 

Part of me wants to get a larger pan to speed the process up, the other part of me likes doing it this way. 

[BowmanMike]

25 minutes ago, WNYBuckHunter said:

A little after 4am and I just added the last of the sap to the pot. It’s not doing too bad, I started around 1:30 yesterday and had 23-24 gallons of sap and there’s 5 gallons in the pot currently boiling. I’m thinking an hour or two more and I should have it down far enough that I can let it cool down and put it in the fridge to filter and finish after I get some sleep. 
 

Part of me wants to get a larger pan to speed the process up, the other part of me likes doing it this way. 

It's hard to know when to stop getting the next best thing. The friend that got me into sugaring found a nice evaporator plus pans for me for $500 . That is a great price but it dont think we need it. Our little makeshift setup works pretty well and with a few improvements will be just fine for us.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Just now, BowmanMike said:

It's hard to know when to stop getting the next best thing. The friend that got me into sugaring found a nice evaporator plus pans for me for $500 . That is a great price but it dont think we need it. Our little makeshift setup works pretty well and with a few improvements will be just fine for us.

For me I guess It will all depend on how many trees I end up tapping next year. I’m working with 4 trees, 8 taps this year. Last time I did This it was 3 trees, 4 taps. I have 4 more trees near the house that I can tap next year. 3 will take 2 taps and the other will be a single. I could do it at about the same rate if I boil 2 pots at the same time, but that might be a pain. Maybe I’ll just get a bigger pan and run it off of the 2 burners I have. I dunno  

[dinorocks]

7 hours ago, WNYBuckHunter said:

Oh man, that sounds amazing! Have you done that before or is it an experiment?

I have added bourbon to my syrup in the past...first time adding bacon.  Tried some last night...spot on!!

[dinorocks]

A bigger pan would obviously speed things up a bit.  Seems a bit too slow...about a gallon per hour if I read correctly?  I believe the longer you boil the darker the syrup gets. My pan, when full, holds 40 gallons...each inch equals 5 gallons.  I can typically evaporate 10 gallons per hour...this year I kept the pan at 2-3 inches and the sap evaporated faster.  I measure the sugar content in each 5 gallons I add with a refractometer ($20 on Amazon) and measure and record the volume before and after I add to my pan to make sure my boil is steady.  If my average sugar content for example is approximately 2%, I divide 86 by 2% to calculate how many gallons of sap I need for a gallon of syrup (46 gallons).  My approximate volume of sap collected for my third and last boil of the season was 260 gallons.   260 divided by 46 gives me about 6 gallons of syrup.  6 gallons in my pan is about 1 1/4inches...I then know I want to stop my boil to filter and finish boil at the house when I get to about 1 3/4 inches in the pan.  At the house I can boil off the remaining 2-3 gallons of water in my nearup.  I can boil off about 1 gallon per hour in my finish pan (finish pan holds 6 1/2 gallons...each inch is about 1 gallon)...but at this point I tracking temperature and Brix. After several finish boils I now bring my temp to 220 F and 68 Brix (using my hydrometer)...if I don’t reach those numbers there will be too much water in the syrup making it runny but most importantly it will not keep as long....if I exceed my target, large crystals form in the bottled syrup after a short while and the syrup gets too thick.  If I exceed my target I can add my emergency sap to the boil to bring things back.  Regarding filtering, I soak my “wool” and “paper” filters in hot water before use.  I put 3 paper filters in the wool filter and start to filter (hot) when I reach my target ...if the filtering slows, I remove the clogged filter and keep filtering...my goal is to bottle at approximately 180 F.  If filtering is not done correctly, niter (sugar sand) settles in the bottom of the bottle and the syrup can be cloudy...
 

This is how I make syrup from 6 years of trial and error...definitely not the only way, but what has worked for me...hope some of the above info helps the current and future “sugar makers”!

 

Edited March 23, 2021 by dinorocks

[WNYBuckHunter]

Last time I did it, my syrup was dark, but very good. I didnt have any issues with crystals that I can remember. This batch looks like it will be dark as well, so I’m thinking you’re right about the boiling time. I have Filtered mine using double coffee filters while it’s still steaming a bit. Not sure of the exact temp. I put 2 gallons in the fridge just now after letting it cool a bit more. I’ll do my finish boil later today after I get Some sleep. Once it’s done I’m going to can it in some mason jars and set it aside. I’m hoping the upcoming cold temps are going to keep the sap running a bit more so I can do another boil. Who knows though. 

[BowmanMike]

Thanks for the specifics @dinorocks. As a first timer the filtering is proving the most difficult part and knowing when to stop boiling is tricky too. A friend lent us his extra hydrometer,so that helps. We thought we filtered the last batch well but got the kind of sediment you talked about. So my wife ended up heating it up again and filtering again. It looks beautiful now. I may collect sap again at the end of today and then do our last boil in the next few days. We have plenty of syrup for ourselves and even some to share.

[dinorocks]

Well I didn’t have the heart to dump what was in my buckets while pulling my collection equipment for the season so I put my previously cleaned pans back on the arch along with 50 gallons of sap last evening.  Had a nice dinner with my wife while closing up shop.  The ice I collected for the sap refrigeration area at my sugar shack lasted to the end (although my creek-side “ice castle” melted quicker than I thought).  I’ll finish boil today with an anticipated gallon of very dark syrup.  All and all, a great season albeit a slow start, but lots of lessons learned to add to the list! I can share my lessons learned if interested...I would be very interested to hear what you learned and any changes to your sugar making for next season.  Happy Spring!!

[mowin]

9 minutes ago, dinorocks said:

Well I didn’t have the heart to dump what was in my buckets while pulling my collection equipment for the season so I put my previously cleaned pans back on the arch along with 50 gallons of sap last evening.  Had a nice dinner with my wife while closing up shop.  The ice I collected for the sap refrigeration area at my sugar shack lasted to the end (although my creek-side “ice castle” melted quicker than I thought).  I’ll finish boil today with an anticipated gallon of very dark syrup.  All and all, a great season albeit a slow start, but lots of lessons learned to add to the list! I can share my lessons learned if interested...I would be very interested to hear what you learned and any changes to your sugar making for next season.  Happy Spring!!

Sounds like you had a great season.  

We definitely learned a lot this yr. Its my friends first yr, and while I had experience running a evaporator in the 90's, I definitely learned a lot running this sized evaporator.  Our Sugarbush in North facing, and the ground has a lot of frost in that area, we might get additional runs after this warmup, but its going to be close.  

[WNYBuckHunter]

Here we have it! 5 pints of nice dark amber, which is how I like It. I’m not a light and fancy guy lol. 

[dinorocks]

6 minutes ago, WNYBuckHunter said:

Here we have it! 5 pints of nice dark amber, which is how I like It. I’m not a light and fancy guy lol. 

Great job!  I joke that I would be happy to pay twice the going rate for a gallon of syrup with all the time and effort I put into making maple syrup!
 

with the light on your jar of syrup, it looks like it could be on a Pink Floyd album cover!

[Bolt action]

I don't know anything about this but I'm curious. Is it really just as "easy" as collecting huge volumes of sap and simmering it down to the point that it thickens and, voila, syrup? 

[Lawdwaz]

1 minute ago, Bolt action said:

I don't know anything about this but I'm curious. Is it really just as "easy" as collecting huge volumes of sap and simmering it down to the point that it thickens and, voila, syrup? 

Lol.......

I bet not but in its simplest terms, probably yes.   

[Bolt action]

I don't mean to minimize the effort. From what folks on this thread have shared, it's a labor of love for sure. I just wasn't sure if there was more to it. Tap trees, collect sap, simmer sap, filter the reduction into jars, rinse and repeat?

[WNYBuckHunter]

10 minutes ago, Bolt action said:

I don't know anything about this but I'm curious. Is it really just as "easy" as collecting huge volumes of sap and simmering it down to the point that it thickens and, voila, syrup? 

Pretty much. It’s not hard, just time consuming. Kinda like processing your own deer or growing a garden. 

[WNYBuckHunter]

33 minutes ago, dinorocks said:

Great job!  I joke that I would be happy to pay twice the going rate for a gallon of syrup with all the time and effort I put into making maple syrup!
 

with the light on your jar of syrup, it looks like it could be on a Pink Floyd album cover!

Stairway to syrup lol

[BowmanMike]

13 minutes ago, Bolt action said:

I don't mean to minimize the effort. From what folks on this thread have shared, it's a labor of love for sure. I just wasn't sure if there was more to it. Tap trees, collect sap, simmer sap, filter the reduction into jars, rinse and repeat?

That is the short version. It all takes some time to become good at it and figure things out. You can boil it to quickly or too long,filter it wrong and end up with lots of sediment,not boil it down enough and have it spoil...

But it is not that hard,very much like gardening or cutting up deer. @Wny buck huntersaid it well.

[BowmanMike]

6 hours ago, dinorocks said:

Well I didn’t have the heart to dump what was in my buckets while pulling my collection equipment for the season so I put my previously cleaned pans back on the arch along with 50 gallons of sap last evening.  Had a nice dinner with my wife while closing up shop.  The ice I collected for the sap refrigeration area at my sugar shack lasted to the end (although my creek-side “ice castle” melted quicker than I thought).  I’ll finish boil today with an anticipated gallon of very dark syrup.  All and all, a great season albeit a slow start, but lots of lessons learned to add to the list! I can share my lessons learned if interested...I would be very interested to hear what you learned and any changes to your sugar making for next season.  Happy Spring!!

I love the cordwood shack. I may give that building technique a try at my place.

[SportsmanNH]

After seeing how much work goes into and how much equipment and tools are used to make the syrup , I will never complain about the price of a bottle of maple syrup again ! You guys should sell it for twice as much as you are selling it for !  Great job you guys ! 

[mowin]

38 minutes ago, WNYBuckHunter said:

Stairway to syrup lol

Thats led zeppelin.   

[WNYBuckHunter]

30 minutes ago, mowin said:

Thats led zeppelin.   

Lol yeah I realized That a few mins after I posted  How about

A Momentary Lapse of Pancakes

[mowin]

1 hour ago, WNYBuckHunter said:

Lol yeah I realized That a few mins after I posted  How about

A Momentary Lapse of Pancakes

Lol, now that I can sink my teeth into.  Pink Floyd is my favorite band. 

[BowmanMike]

2 hours ago, SportsmanNH said:

After seeing how much work goes into and how much equipment and tools are used to make the syrup , I will never complain about the price of a bottle of maple syrup again ! You guys should sell it for twice as much as you are selling it for !  Great job you guys ! 

That is why maple syrup could never compete with honey or sugar pricewise. Honey might be close to the same price soon enough the way the bees are doing.

[mowin]

3 hours ago, Bolt action said:

I don't mean to minimize the effort. From what folks on this thread have shared, it's a labor of love for sure. I just wasn't sure if there was more to it. Tap trees, collect sap, simmer sap, filter the reduction into jars, rinse and repeat?

Its a lot of work.  Cutting the firewood, tapping collecting.  So easy to scorch a pan if your not paying attention.  

[Dinsdale]

On 3/23/2021 at 8:21 AM, WNYBuckHunter said:

Last time I did it, my syrup was dark, but very good. I didnt have any issues with crystals that I can remember. This batch looks like it will be dark as well, so I’m thinking you’re right about the boiling time. I have Filtered mine using double coffee filters while it’s still steaming a bit. Not sure of the exact temp. I put 2 gallons in the fridge just now after letting it cool a bit more. I’ll do my finish boil later today after I get Some sleep. Once it’s done I’m going to can it in some mason jars and set it aside. I’m hoping the upcoming cold temps are going to keep the sap running a bit more so I can do another boil. Who knows though. 

It's worth just a couple bucks to buy a square of filter felt and some pre filters you can get many reuses out of, and ditch the coffee stuff. Like 20 bucks buys a couple years worth of supplies.

Dump it in as hot as it comes right out of the pot.

Just sayin

 

Edited March 24, 2021 by Dinsdale