Tree sap gathering and syrup making

[duluthralphie]

Worst year ever. (So far)

I have about 4 gallons of 8% concentrate and that’s it.

The weather is not allowing the trees to run. Hopefully they won’t bloom in the next 4-5 days when more favorable weather hits.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

i tapped 3 box elders so far. think i might of been a day or two early not much sap yet. suppose to get around 5-6C (around 41F) in the coming days been like 2-4C (35-39F) every day snow is starting to melt.

 

[duluthralphie]

i tapped 3 box elders so far. think i might of been a day or two early not much sap yet. suppose to get around 5-6C (around 41F) in the coming days been like 2-4C (35-39F) every day snow is starting to melt.

You should get some soon. We have too much snow cover, I think. If the trees don’t blossom before Wednesday, we should be ok.

Wednesday our temps return to near perfect sap conditions.

I think I have about 70 trees tapped now.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

today is the first day of getting sap!
now just got to get enough to make some, because this is box elder am planning on somewhere between 60-80 gallons of sap for 1 gallon of syrup. hoping its the low end but will most likely be the high end.

 

[mowin]

Back from my ice fishing trip in Maine. Sap didn't run at all last week, but the faucet is going to open mid week.

 

[aart]

this is box elder am planning

How does that taste?

 

[itsasmallfarm]

How does that taste?

this is my first year making syrup but i got about a 1/3 cup of sap and cooked down as much as possible, not syrup but had a slight butterscotch flavor? it was good but needed much more cooking (just not enough to make syrup)
but keep in mind am from western Canada so we don't got any maples like sugar.


but where getting cold again suppose to get down below freezing (as a high)

 

[duluthralphie]

How does that taste?

It tastes like maple syrup. It is a Maple tree.

They are all in the Acer family.

Early boxelder syrup is actually a caramel taste to it. But after a few days of running it is all the same.


@itsasmallfarm don’t worry about the quantity of sap. My boxelder boil down around 50-1. But the boxelder give me twice as much sap per tree as my Sugar, Red, and Silver maples do.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

It tastes like maple syrup. It is a Maple tree.

They are all in the Acer family.

Early boxelder syrup is actually a caramel taste to it. But after a few days of running it is all the same.


@itsasmallfarm don’t worry about the quantity of sap. My boxelder boil down around 50-1. But the boxelder give me twice as much sap per tree as my Sugar, Red, and Silver maples do.

good to know, thank you. i have no idea what to expect from how much sap per tree and how much per gallon.

don't got any other type of maples here (got moose maple up north i think its called) so i have nothing to compare too.

friend/neighbor is planning to run birch syrup with me this spring, we should have lots of birch to tap.

 

[duluthralphie]

good to know, thank you. i have no idea what to expect from how much sap per tree and how much per gallon.

don't got any other type of maples here (got moose maple up north i think its called) so i have nothing to compare too.

friend/neighbor is planning to run birch syrup with me this spring, we should have lots of birch to tap.

I have never done birch before. My neighbor does quite a bit. As I understand, it can be tricky without an Reverse Osmosis system.

I know it’s not really a good pancake syrup and more of a baking or brewing flavoring.

I started boiling sap today. I actually collected 55 gallons of sap today. I did not think I would get any.