Sweet!

Saturday, April 8, 2023

We went to watch some of the process of making maple syrup out of sap. The first part involves boiling sap for a long time, to cook off the water. I read it takes 40 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup, so a LOT of boiling needs to happen. Our friend, Tom, started the cooking over a wood fire on Wednesday. When we arrived, they were getting ready to end of the process. The syrup needs to get to 219 degrees at sea level. Since we are not at sea lever, they were shooting for 217.5℉. It crystalizes if you heat it too high.

When it was time, they slipped wooden slats across the top of the big bin of syrup and lifted it off the heat. Next came the best part: filtering!! I love funnels and I love filtering. I think I must have had some great toys to filter or funnel when I was little because it just makes me so happy. (I know funnels and filters are not the same thing, but the filter was in a funnel shaped thing, and it made me think of funnels and I love funnels) (I am just so-so on funnel cake). They got about 3.5 gallons of syrup!! What a great thing to have having collected some liquid from your yard. It’s like split-pea soup – you get something out of something you were so not going to use otherwise. I love it.