© 1996 - by Bob Frenock - All rights reserved (OTTF)


Farm News (Farm Overview & Disclaimer)     228

 

Back to article list.

 

Tree Sap to Syrup

2023-03-17

I bought a small amount of spiles a few weeks back with the idea of trying to tap a couple trees. I figured I was late and the tapping season was pretty much over, but as it turned out, I should have bought a bunch of them. We still had a number of below freezing nights along with above freezing days, which seems to be what is required to make the sap flow. In my case, even if it is above freezing at night, if it is clear enough to cause frost or ice on the cars (and so presumably tree branches) then I get some sap running.

The baggies are just an easy way to collect the sap without allowing rain, bugs, or debris in the sap. It worked well enough, although you had to keep a close eye on them when the sap was running quickly.

In all, over a couple of weeks which included maybe six days when the sap was running, I collected about eight cups each of usable Maple and Alder sap. I mention usable, because I left about six cups of maple sap out on the kitchen counter for a while, and it turned cloudy and smelled bad, so I tossed it. I now either pasteurize each day's collection, or at least keep it in the fridge if I'm expecting more soon. The jar on the left, and the two bottles together on the left are Red Alder sap while the others are Big Leaf Maple sap. The jar looks cloudy in the pic, but it is condensation. They both look identical coming out of the tree, and both are pretty clear.
Since I kept expecting to not have any more sap run, I only cooked down a couple of eight cup batches. Keep in mind that it is usually a 40:1 ratio, meaning it takes about forty gallons of sap to cook down enough to make one gallon of Sugar Maple syrup. I'm not certain of the sugar content of Big Leaf Maples or Alders, but I assume they are at least lower than Sugar Maples. My eight cups, or 64 ounces, of sap needs to cook down to just over 1-1/2 ounces. Rather than attempting to go by temperature (suggested when making syrup, but may vary for trees other than Sugar Maples), I just cooked each one down to that volume, 1-1/2 ounces. The pics below show the second batch of Big Leaf Maple cooking down, and below that, the resulting syrup in the cup. The first batch that I made was from the Red Alder, and there is a distinct difference in color.
These are pics of the resulting syrup with the Big Leaf Maple on the left and the Red Alder on the right. The sweetness was similar in both. Obviously the alder is a much darker syrup. When cooking them down, the odor from the steam coming off of the maple didn't develop a perceptible odor until it had cooked down much further than the alder. The alder very quickly developed an odor and I found it much more enticing than the maple. It is reminiscent of caramel. And the finished syrup has that same odor and flavor. The maple smells and tastes pretty much like you would expect maple syrup to taste and smell, but it seems much milder than any maple syrup I have bought before. I did read that the time of sap run makes a significant difference in the color and flavor. In any case, I have big plans for next year!

Tree Sap to Syrup

2023-03-17

I bought a small amount of spiles a few weeks back with the idea of trying to tap a couple trees. I figured I was late and the tapping season was pretty much over, but as it turned out, I should have bought a bunch of them. We still had a number of below freezing nights along with above freezing days, which seems to be what is required to make the sap flow. In my case, even if it is above freezing at night, if it is clear enough to cause frost or ice on the cars (and so presumably tree branches) then I get some sap running.

The baggies are just an easy way to collect the sap without allowing rain, bugs, or debris in the sap. It worked well enough, although you had to keep a close eye on them when the sap was running quickly.








In all, over a couple of weeks which included maybe six days when the sap was running, I collected about eight cups each of usable Maple and Alder sap. I mention usable, because I left about six cups of maple sap out on the kitchen counter for a while, and it turned cloudy and smelled bad, so I tossed it. I now either pasteurize each day's collection, or at least keep it in the fridge if I'm expecting more soon. The jar on the left, and the two bottles together on the left are Red Alder sap while the others are Big Leaf Maple sap. The jar looks cloudy in the pic, but it is condensation. They both look identical coming out of the tree, and both are pretty clear.





Since I kept expecting to not have any more sap run, I only cooked down a couple of eight cup batches. Keep in mind that it is usually a 40:1 ratio, meaning it takes about forty gallons of sap to cook down enough to make one gallon of Sugar Maple syrup. I'm not certain of the sugar content of Big Leaf Maples or Alders, but I assume they are at least lower than Sugar Maples. My eight cups, or 64 ounces, of sap needs to cook down to just over 1-1/2 ounces. Rather than attempting to go by temperature (suggested when making syrup, but may vary for trees other than Sugar Maples), I just cooked each one down to that volume, 1-1/2 ounces. The pics below show the second batch of Big Leaf Maple cooking down, and below that, the resulting syrup in the cup. The first batch that I made was from the Red Alder, and there is a distinct difference in color.







These are pics of the resulting syrup with the Big Leaf Maple on the left and the Red Alder on the right. The sweetness was similar in both. Obviously the alder is a much darker syrup. When cooking them down, the odor from the steam coming off of the maple didn't develop a perceptible odor until it had cooked down much further than the alder. The alder very quickly developed an odor and I found it much more enticing than the maple. It is reminiscent of caramel. And the finished syrup has that same odor and flavor. The maple smells and tastes pretty much like you would expect maple syrup to taste and smell, but it seems much milder than any maple syrup I have bought before. I did read that the time of sap run makes a significant difference in the color and flavor. In any case, I have big plans for next year!







Disclaimer

Terms of Service     Privacy Policy

GCRF     TruffleTryst     Frenock

Merchants of Poison Report final 12/05/2022

(with 579 cited references)


Find out about: America's (now the World's) Favorite Poison By Far!


“In order to save glyphosate, the Monsanto corporation has undertaken an effort to destroy the United Nations’ cancer agency by any means possible.”[10]

... " just four companies — Bayer, Corteva (formerly DowDuPont), BASF and Syngenta/ChemChina — controlled 75 percent of plant breeding research, 60 percent of the commercial seed market, and 76 percent of global agrichemical sales in 2019."[78]



Just gotta' LOVE glyphosate, right?????

Yes, the second link is old news, but not forgotten and more importantly, as the first link shows, not remedied:

Monsanto / Bayer's Roundup Triggers Over 40 Plant Diseases and Endangers Human and Animal Health. Protect yourself and those you care about!

http://www.i-sis.org.uk/argentinasRoundupHumanTragedy.php    

http://www.NaturalNews.com/031138_Monsanto_Roundup.html

[10] Foucart, S. & Horel, S. (2019, April 7). Monsanto Papers. European Press Prize. https://www.europeanpressprize.com/article/monsanto-papers/

[78] ETC Group. (2019, April 06). New report: Putting the cartel before the horse…and farm, seeds, soil, peasants. https://www.etcgroup.org/content/new-report-putting-cartel-horse%E2%80%A6and-farm-seeds-soil-peasants

Just Say No To GMO by Michael Adams - Video
https://www.naturalnews.com/NoGMO.html

Just Say No To GMO by Michael Adams - Music
https://oregonTruffleTryst.com/_MEDIA/JustSayNoToGMO-192.mp3 Song Lyrics

Song by Mike Adams, with spoken lines from Jeffrey Smith

I’m lookin at the food that’s in the grocery store
They say it’s safe, everybody eat more.
On second thought, I don’t really know if it’s made with those GMOs

So I’m lookin for the non-GMO label ‘fore I bring it home and put it on my table
I wanna know it’s verified so I don’t
Harm myself with genetically modified

Uh-Oh
They don’t want you to know
All the poison they grow
The corporate profits they show from those GMO OH

Those Frankenseeds that they sow
They’re gonna hurt us we know
It’s time we told ‘em to go, say GMO NO!

I don’t want eat poison, I don’t want gene mutations at my dinner reservations
it’s a food abomination what they doin’ to this fast food nation
They take artificial gene combinations
inject them in seed variations
so they can grow their Frankenfood imitations
while the side effects cause medical patients

Keep their profits alive while they
spraying all the food with name brand herbicides
and all the while they’re spreadin’ their lies
Monsanto (Bayer now!) destroyin’ farmers lives
and the FDA keeps it all going
saying it’s safe even though they all know it’s just
poison stealing away your life, and that’s what you eat with genetically modified.

GMO safety huh that’s a corporate myth
if you don’t believe me listen to Jeffery Smith
He’s the man with plan gonna do what he can
To help us all get those GMOs banned
But we need you to lend a hand
take a stand against this food scam
It’s a mission for the health condition worldwide
We don’t wanna live genetically modified

Don’t eat food unless you know what’s in it
Don’t believe the propaganda cuz the press will spin it
Affects everybody, we all up in it
Stand up to Monsanto (Bayer now!), tell ‘em oh no you didn’t

Reject Frankenfoods in the store
demand honest labels so we can be informed
We have a natural right to know
What we buyin’ Just say no to GMO

Before our farms start dyin’
Just say no to GMO

Those corporate crooks are lyin’
Just say no to GMO

This time we’re not complyin’
Just say no to GMO

We’re just not buyin’ it
Just say no to GMO

Song and Lyrics © 2010 by Michael Adams, All Rights Reserved

Terms of Service     Privacy Policy

GCRF     TruffleTryst     Frenock