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Post by steev on Mar 23, 2018 19:09:34 GMT -5
Kinda like kids.
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Post by richardw on Mar 31, 2018 13:34:57 GMT -5
So how much do you reduce it down to when you are processing it?
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Post by Walk on Apr 1, 2018 7:48:42 GMT -5
So how much do you reduce it down to when you are processing it? Best way to answer that is to say that I ran the numbers only on the first batch so far and it ended up being a 27:1 ratio, meaning I had to boil off 27 gallons of sap to get one finished gallon of syrup. The ratio can and often does vary as the season progresses, sometimes gets better and sometimes worse. 27:1 is actually a pretty decent ratio, I will gladly take anything 30:1 or better. The 40:1 that some people deal with really sucks, a lot of work for what you get. Syrup is finished when the temperature is 7.5 degrees over the local boiling temperature of water. Local boiling temperature of water varies based on current barometric pressure so I calibrate my thermometer when the syrup is close to being finished. I do final finishing on the stove where I have much more control than on the wood burning arch. All the years we did syrup we never used the thermometer method. We always used the cold spoon method, dipped into syrup and allowing syrup to drip off the edge of the spoon. If it runs off in "sheets" rather than "drips" it's ready. You also get to know what the surface of the syrup looks like when it's ready, a subtle shift in the sheen, and the fragrance. We use the spoon method for cider syrup too. |
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Post by steev on Apr 2, 2018 19:53:00 GMT -5
I'm so pleased to hear all this, though I'll prolly never be involved in this, but it's a treat to know the details of how it's done.
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Post by zeedman on Apr 2, 2018 20:36:54 GMT -5
These days most people say a syrup hydrometer is the most accurate method to use but I found mine to be waste of money. Each season I use mine once on the very first batch to verify what I am doing with the thermometer is correct then it goes back in the cupboard for another year and I continue on with the thermometer. I would not even use it that one time except for the fact that I spent good money on the darn thing so I have to continue to justify having it around.Maybe start making wine?  |
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Post by reed on Apr 3, 2018 15:51:42 GMT -5
Has anyone ever made maple wine? Can't decide if it sounds great or terrible  . Wine is another thing I have never done but intend to try in near future, actually I'm more interested in brandy which I think is just distilled wine, not sure about that though. |
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Post by philagardener on Apr 3, 2018 21:29:43 GMT -5
Has anyone ever made maple wine? Can't decide if it sounds great or terrible . Wine is another thing I have never done but intend to try in near future, actually I'm more interested in brandy which I think is just distilled wine, not sure about that though. We might be able to get Alan to show for a topic like that! |
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Post by richardw on Apr 4, 2018 0:15:03 GMT -5
Ears pricked when you mentioned 'phenomenal beer', never thought of making booze from maple sap, another one for the bucket list.
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Post by khoomeizhi on Apr 4, 2018 4:17:29 GMT -5
I homebrew a lot of mead and related 'wine-type' stuff, including acerglyns (honey and maple syrup fermented together). All wild yeast. Trying an experimental concentrated sap wine currently, but ran into a little snag. We have no sugar maples (just a couple norways) but we do have lot of black walnuts, so the sap was a mix of those two...after cooking it down and letting it cool enough to yeast, it turned to a pretty ectoplasmic goo - turns out black walnut sap has a lot more pectin in it than maple! Fermenting it anyway (though I don't yet know what I'll do with it)...next time pre-dosing the sap with pectic enzyme will be the plan.
Little tangent there. Short answer, yes, I've got experience with fermenting syrup. Some people find maple wines off-putting, others enjoy it. Worth trying if you've got the syrup!
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Post by mskrieger on Apr 9, 2018 15:50:20 GMT -5
Thunderstorms? In April? Normal?
(yes, I have many questions.)
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Post by mskrieger on Apr 10, 2018 11:46:15 GMT -5
That is fascinating. We rarely have thunderstorms in spring here: they are strictly a summer phenomenon, when hot, humid days collapse into thunder and lightening when the temperature drops a certain threshold at dusk.
Or at least that used to be the case. I think a year or two ago we had a thunderstorm in March and I posted about it in 'how's your weather?'. And yes, thundersnow has become a thing, too. I first experienced it in a freak storm that buried Washington, DC in wet, slushy snow January 2011, but I have since heard that it has been happening in the NYC area, too. Very strange.
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Post by reed on Apr 11, 2018 4:28:11 GMT -5
Spring used to be when we had lots of thunderstorms that would sometimes last for hours. We also often had short ones in summer, about any afternoon that got much above 85 F would have a little storm. Now thunder storms are far less common overall but happen any time of year.
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Post by steev on Apr 24, 2018 11:08:32 GMT -5
Another outstanding example of "intelligent design".
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Post by philagardener on Apr 25, 2018 5:38:38 GMT -5
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Post by oldmobie on Apr 25, 2018 16:28:06 GMT -5
Another outstanding example of "intelligent design". Can't survive the inhospitible winter alone, so hunker under a wool blanket with a warm animal. (Put small size and firm grip to good ewes.) Sounds reasonably intelligent... |
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