Syrup is officially D-O-N-E!

[TrickyBob]

24 hours of boiling, 6 gallons of sap, 2 months of collecting, and learning to creatively use every container I own. 

The end result is syrup that is boiled to perfection - it is runny yet thickly coats a spoon. I got lucky and stopped my boiling at the perfect point before turning it to candy.

Real Maple syrup is super sweet with an after taste of what I would imagine a tree would taste like, if you were to lick it. 

I think the tree taste is coming from the fact that I had boiled it in my kitchen, over medium heat. When you boil outside, you can boil at high heat and reduce it quickly. About 20 gallons in 13 hours or so. Since I was trying to control my steam and didn't want to boil over, I kept it at medium heat. I feel this hurt me in the end. The slower you boil it, the darker it gets. It can also affect the taste. Though it isn't a burnt taste, it tastes as though it was over heat too long. I think pancakes will cure that aftertaste and the sweetness will shine through. Sort of if you leave coffee on the burner too long. It doesn't burn exactly, but might add a bit of a bitter flavor. But next year I will know to do it quicker. 

I got 2 cups of syrup out of this. 

It's a little disappointing to know that you went through all of this for 2 cups, but I got these 2 cups from primarily 1 tree, with my 2nd tree lending 1/4 cup of support. 



The color is a lot lighter if I dip a spoon in and let it drip off. In the container it's super dark (which I attribute to how I cooked it). The white is little bubbles, not syrup scum. lol. 

[vicky]

Wooohooooo! Great work!

[Deleted]

That's amazing.
So 6 gallons of sap makes only 2 cups of syrup? Wow.

[juliagoulia]

Whaaaaat? 6 gallons boils down to 2 cups?! My mind is blown... No wonder real maple syrup is so pricy. Well, enjoy it! :-)

[julesf84]

Very cool! How Little House in the Woods of you! (@tambcat can I get a what-what? Lol)

[tacokick]

What a neat experiment! I can and it is amazing how much work and food can end up making so little. I turned 20 lb tomatoes into 2 or 3 small jars of salsa once. Then I tried to make tomato sauce and ended up with just a few very small jars from about 40 lbs tomatoes and many hours work. Poor Ma Ingalls must had never had a relaxing day.

[TrickyBob]

40 gallons of sap makes 1 gallon depending on sugar content. Usually it takes 40 to 45 gallons for a gallon.

[Deleted]

Real maple syrup on vanilla ice cream is the bomb.
Do eeeet

[moolarkey]

So - do you use coffee cans nailed to trees to get your sap or do you use plastic bags? Driving North up 71 in Ohio a week ago we saw plastic bags (heavy white bags, not grocery store bags) on trees to collect sap. I've never noticed that before, I'm sure it's not new this year I'd just never seen it myself.

[leeann]

Is it bad that when I saw this, I thought it was going to be about Syrup, like Lil' Wayne's Syrup?

[anlo]

Wow! That is dedication! I also have now been schooled re: the cost of real maple syrup. Jeez.

[Muddled]

No wonder syrup is so expensive. That being said, I think it is worth buying. What a lot of work.

[moolarkey]

Now that you've done this experiment are you going to build your own sugar shack?

[pantsparty]

Just in time! 57 Magical Ways to Use Maple Syrup

[adhdfashion]

This is so freaking cool!

[lmbml]

Wow that is amazing!

[mamasaurus]

Mar 19, 2013 9:53:24 GMT -5 moolarkey said:

Now that you've done this experiment are you going to build your own sugar shack?

This phrase is also the name of a male strip that is semi-popular around here.

If you build one, I hope you make your H put a rubber band on his junk before entering. LOL.

Also, congrats on your sweet treat!

[daisyheadmaizie]

So cool!

[TrickyBob]

Mar 19, 2013 9:53:24 GMT -5 moolarkey said:

Now that you've done this experiment are you going to build your own sugar shack?

Lol, I wish. It sure would be 10x easier. I need to find more Maple trees. 



Sadly my syrup's bitter/tree taste is getting slightly worse. I don't know if it is due to my putting it in the fridge, I feel the fridge somehow brings out the worst flavors in stuff at times. I am very certain I cooked it too low for way too long. I have to remind myself to not get bent out of shape about it, that this was my first year - on a spur of the moment whim, of trying to make syrup. That it could have been a whole lot worse. 

I also have a quart of sap over flowing outside because the snow is melting and the tree is sucking up more water. It tastes like water, it's all going to get dumped. Which is a shame but there is no point in boiling it down, I'd get a tablespoon. Lol. 

moolarkey This is my set up. 2 on each tree. 4 total. 

[TrickyBob]

Well I'm dumb. I found 1.5 gallons of sap (in bags) in my microwave that I put in there to defrost and forgot about.

Guess I'm not done boiling.

[tacokick]

Maybe it would still be good in baked goods? The flavor would bake out a bit

[jane6672]

This is awesome! I love projects like this.

[isabel]

Mar 19, 2013 7:45:02 GMT -5 kevin arnold said:

Awesome job!!!! I'm suddenly craving some salty Johnny cakes griddled in butter drizzled with some of that yummy syrup!

Man, that sounds awesome. I am so not excited about my dinner now (ratatouille and grilled chicken).

[isabel]

dupe.

[midnightrae]

That is awesome. It looks delicious. Great work.