Making maple syrup

[Smokey hollow]

I tapped the maples i got and started cooking down today .talking about good !!!

[Bigbob]

I think there's some posts to incorporate that syrup into your whisky. Check out flavoring and ageing.

[MichiganCornhusker]

You don't need to cook it down to syrup, you can cook it down to SG 1.06 and ferment for some nice maple brandy!

[Smokey hollow]

Good deal !!!! Thanks

[StillLearning1]

Hey Smokey, after reading this post I did just a small amount of research about tapping maple trees last night. I read that you need about 10gallons of sap to get one pint of syrup. Does that sound about right to you? How many trees and how long does it take to get 10gal of sap? (Ballpark answer is fine I'm sure there are a zillion variables)

If luck goes my way I'm about to own 16+ acres of land and I want to get as much from it as I can.

[bitter]

Nice.. ooo I miss taping trees. I have a 2.5x6' long pan and about 40 buckets but since I moved from home after college years ago never around the bush at the right time of the year. My mom still owns about 7 acres of sugar bush. So much fun but still a ton of work too at the same time. I can still smell the sweat maple smell of the sap boiling and the taste of sap right from the bucket after pulling the ice off it first thing in the morning....... Once these years I will need to take time off work and take the kids with me to tap at grandma's

B

[Smokey hollow]

Still learning it depends on how thick u like your syrup . We like our aas most people on the lighter side so if u boil it down like we do we get around 1 gallon per 8 gallon of sap . But like i said ours is on the lighter color and on the lesser side of thickness . BUTT!! Very , very good ill take a pic and post it if i can size it to fit page i wish i could let u taste it . As far as using it in a wash u deff. Dont need to cook it down all the way . I cook ours down till its got a dirty caro syrup look and u cant beet it . In all . Theres no set gallon per gallon ratio yes it takes a few gallons but not that much for so little they must have it thick like mollasses . Its almost like distilling u will get hooked ans hurry up they will dry up in a few weeks . You wont regret it buddy SH

[Smokey hollow]

Oh and one more thing it dont have to be a sugar maple all the maples will make maple syrup , water, red maple , sugar maple , thers 12 i think in all but i tap the sugar and water maples . Same stuff, SH

[Smokey hollow]

I forgot to answer the other ? U had . I got 3 13" diam and i tapped them when i said i did i think 3/4 dats ago and i got 3 gallon and 1/2. Diff trees diff tirn out . When u drill hole they will start dripping or more right off batt so have your milk jug or what ever ready . Lol have fun

[StillLearning1]

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. I did a lot more research on it last night and it looks like something I'd love to do! I will probably miss out on it this year but I'll be ready next time! My only fear now is that I live to far south...but it can't hurt to try I guess.

[moosemilk]

There's a company in my area that makes birch syrup. Similar to maple, but not as sweet.

[Smokey hollow]

If you got maple tree down there you should get enough fir your family any way. No prob answering the ? Yall help me out sooo much . Thanks SH

[rad14701]

It takes far more than 8 gallons of sap to yield 1 gallon of syrup... I used to use 40:1 as my rough estimate... Some texts state as much as 84:1... Depends on your sugar maples sugar content... But shooting for fermentable sap is a whole nuther story... Just cook down to 1.060 as stated...

[Smokey hollow]

I said it depends on how you like it and how thick you want it . That clears up that gallon per gallon thing . Stilllearning1 just get out and have some fun and round some up and boil it down , u will c what i mean . No arguement here everyone is diff . And everybody got an opinion . No big deal . Have have

[Drunk-N-Smurf]

I would think that with the avg Maple tree providing 1-2% sugar content, a gallon of "syrup" made from only 8gallons of sap, would basically be slightly sweeter sap. Giving a max 16% sugar content in final product. Considering pure maple syrup (in Canada) is typically 60-70% regardless of color.

[Smokey hollow]

Stillstirin1 you can also tap a black walnut as i do and come up with a syrup thats taste like wal-nuts . And as he said a birch tree too SH

[Smokey hollow]

Yall are going to say -no kiddn , but i did an experament last night and seperated all the other maple juice from the sugar maple and the result was if you truely got a sugar maple it will put of more syrup for you than any other . I think thats why some people get confused as to how many gallons you need per ratio of product i boiled down 1 gallon and a 1/2 last night and i took it off a little early just because i was going to throw it in with the next batch to be boiled down and let me tell you its just a hair loose ( maybe to loose for alot of people ) but i ended up with almost a half pint right at the syrup stage . I could care less if i cooked it moore or not . So my point is , if you want dark and real sticky syrup then ya you need alot of maple juice but if your like me and my family as long as its syrupie its great . SH

[Drunk-N-Smurf]

Don't bs about maple syrup with a canadian.

The color of maple syrup is determined by the point in the season the sap of the tree is harvested not the amount of cook time. The later in the season, the darker the syrup is. All maple syrup is made the same way. All maples have a sugur content between 1 and 5 %. To be called syrup it needs a sugar content of 66% Even with trees at 5% you would need about13-17gallons of sap to make actual syrup. Anything less is not technically syrup. It's thicker sweeter sap.

What is the brix of your "syrup"? (Or shove your hydrometer into it, and tell me the gravity)

If you are making actual SYRUP from 8gallons of sap, then you have some very special maple trees, and should sell seed stock to maple producers around the world.

[Smokey hollow]

All im saying is that im cooking it down to my families likins and yes its a little loose but so what they like it and thers more of it .. Aint saying no more to many people want to call you a liar and give you all this scientific stuff . Well thats alright with shine but syrup is diff. You cook it to your likins . I AINT KNOW LIAR . Tell u what thers anouther sight that dont give shit and dont care if your typing is perfect ill just stay over there . Also ya i got great seeds ill sell you all u want . Pay me

[Smokey hollow]

Ps .AND YES COLOR IS EFFECTED BY THE COOK TIME . The longer the darker . Ehhh

[Drunk-N-Smurf]

Smoke, I'm not calling you a liar. Perhaps you are boiling sap, and making a reduction that you like. But it's not syrup. And no, the finished color is not affected by cook time unless you are burning/caramelizeing it by which time it's way past syrup. Does the sap turn to a different color as the water is cooked out? Maybe. But you can not get "dark" maple syrup from early season sap.

Do I know everything about making maple syrup? No. My son took a field trip a couple years ago and making maple sugar and syrup was part of the "tour". Maple syrup is a very canadian thing (sorry Vermont). Not too many Canadians alive that couldn't tell you at least a little something they've learned about it.

[Smokey hollow]

Ok . No prob

[rad14701]

Calm down, Smokey hollow...!!! Just because folks know more about something than you doesn't mean they think you are a liar when all they are trying to do is to help educate you... Maple syrups color and flavor profile changes from the beginning through the end of the season, even when reduced to the same SG... Early on it will be lighter and it will darken as the season progresses... I live in maple syrup country myself and have made my own as well as helping in several sugar shacks... Not to mention the fact that my SOH's ex-husband is in the maple syrup business where he uses reverse osmosis to do initial reduction before cooking... Regular customers even go so far as to request early or late syrup depending on their personal preference... Other folks don't know the difference...

[Smokey hollow]

Ya . Im cool , this internet thing and not being able to see thier faces just gets to me sometimes . Im really laid back believe it or not , lol . Ill be around just not posting much . Thanks buddy

[Fastill]

Got my first 7 quarts of syrup cooked today. Past couple years it's been about 32/1 ratio, but with the early spring here and maybe other conditions beyond my knowledge I'm getting about 40/1 ratio. This is the earliest I have been able to tap trees here since I've been cooking syrup.
Used the sap as mash water for allgrain bourbon a year ago, boosted the output noticeably. Not really sure if I like the flavor, but it is aging along.

[Smokey hollow]

Good deal there buddy

[MDH]

Here in the pacific northwest, we have bigleaf maple. The sugar content is lower and it requires more energy to make it into syrup, but I would argue the taste is superior.

[MichiganCornhusker]

Smokey, you've inspired a new tapper. I got 6 taps running today and already collected over a gallon of sap. I may be a little late to the party this year, but I'll still learn plenty and be ready at the beginning of the season next year. If I get enough I'm going to try syrup, and a maple shine.

[jedneck]

Smokey, you've inspired a new tapper. I got 6 taps running today and already collected over a gallon of sap. I may be a little late to the party this year, but I'll still learn plenty and be ready at the beginning of the season next year. If I get enough I'm going to try syrup, and a maple shine.

you could always use it ( the sap) to mash your wheat malt for pancakes in a bottle.

[MichiganCornhusker]

you could always use it ( the sap) to mash your wheat malt for pancakes in a bottle.

Great idea, Jed. No idea yet how much sap I will end up collecting, but I will do at least some of the wheat malt that way. Then I can compare between the all wheat malt and the maple wheat malt.
I pulled off 24 ounces of sap tonight because I'm the kind of guy that can't wait for anything. It had SG around 1.016. Based on what I read, shooting for about a 50:1 reduction, I boiled 24 ounces down to 1 tablespoon of the best damn maple syrup I ever had.
And, because I'm also the kind of guy that needs to know things for his ownself, I did make a brief stop at about 3 ounces, roughly the 8:1 spot mentioned by SH. It had flavor and was quite sweet. Sweeter than any of my mashes, and not even comparable to the sap. Was it what you expect to get in a little glass bottle shaped like a maple leaf at the farmers market? No. Was it tastey enough to stand on its own at that point for what it was? Yep.