We made maple syrup!!We had a total of 8 taps that we distributed between 5 maple trees. We had no idea if we would end up with 5 gallons of sap or 5 drops. Honestly, we weren’t even sure all the trees we tapped were maple. Needless to say, we were very excited when some of the trees started dripping sap right when we drilled into them! Turns out they were all maple trees and we ended up with WAY more sap than we knew what to do with.
Cyrus and I attempted our first batch of syrup alone. It was one of my favorite weekends ever. I really felt like I was on vacation, but at my own house. The weather was great, the fire was warm, it was so relaxing and everything was perfect. Unfortunately we ended up with maple sugar candy instead of syrup. We boiled a bit longer than we should have, oops.
Luckily the professionals were there to help with our second weekend of boiling. We learned all the tips of the trade and ended up with the most delicious maple syrup I have ever tasted.
Things I learned about making maple syrup:
1. It takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of maple syrup.
2. Syrup is ready when it is 217 degrees and begins to sheet on a spatula.
3. Have all of the jars ready to go before you start boiling. Otherwise it's too late and before you know it you have maple candy.
4. Boiling sap is really only fun the first couple of times. After that, it really is just like watching a pot boil.
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