Maple Syrup 2016 Part 4: Finishing the syrup and canning

Today I finished up the "near syrup" from Saturday night.  We usually let the "near syrup" settle out for a day or so before bringing it inside to boil further until it reaches 218.6 degrees.  Then it is filtered again, and brought back up to 180-185 deg and put into canning jars to seal.   The jars do not need to be processed like other types of canning.

I usually have two pans going.  With a window open to let the steam out of the kitchen, I boil the "near syrup" until it becomes real Maple Syrup!  This happens around 219 or slightly less. 

When the syrup reaches the proper syrup point of 218.6 the top of the liquid becomes suddenly bubbly and foamy - it practically explodes into bubbles. 

Then the hot syrup is poured into a special felted wool filter to take out any sediment (niter)

I suspend the wool filter between two chairs, supported by broomsticks.

After the syrup is filtered, I bring the syrup back up to about 180-185 degrees (trying not to get over 190 deg).  The hot syrup is ladled into hot sterile jars and hot sterile lids and rings are put on, and the jar is allowed to cool and seal.

The first batch of wonderful tasty maple syrup - 8 pints - 1 gallon's worth!

Whew!  And that is how maple syrup is made!  We will repeat all these steps over and over and over for each batch, working with sap until the season ends (when the trees bud out), or until we are completely sick and tired of working with sap (usually the case!)  It is indeed a real time consuming and tedious process, no question.  With all this work, is it any wonder that maple syrup costs so much per pint?   We sell ours for $10/pint, and I'm sure that price comes nowhere near  to reimbursing us for our time and effort.   We get sore backs and aching muscles and legs and sometimes need Tylenol to sleep at night, but it really is totally worth it!  Of course we try hard to make things easier every year as we sure aren't getting any younger, and making maple syrup is definitely for young strong bodies!  The "big boys" of maple syrup making,  like in Vermont or Wisconsin, use the tubing system, stringing plastic hoses from tree to tree and they use pumps and special lines to bring the sap in.  They also have big furnaces in brick cookhouses for the evaporation part.  And thousands of dollars worth of fancy equipment.   But we just do things the old fashioned, tried and true way, on a small scale.
     We give away jars of our syrup for Christmas gifts to friends and family.  So if you are one of the lucky recipients of our syrup, now you know how much actual work went into your gift!

Maple Syrup 2016 Part 3: Boiling Sap

Today we are boiling sap - lots of it!!  This is the boring part of the maple syrup process.  For every 40 gallons of sap, you need to boil off 39 gallons of water in order to get 1 gallon of finished syrup.   This is a long process that takes almost all day long.   We just keep feeding sap into the evaporator and feeding wood into the firebox.   It's very windy today, too, so it's not a pleasant task to be outside doing this.  Towards evening, we will have a bunch of "near syrup" that we will filter and bring into the house.  Tomorrow we will boil small batches of it inside to the finishing point and filter it again before letting it settle out and canning up the following day.

First the sap is filtered through a 600 micron filter to take out any debris.

The filtered sap is added to the back of the evaporator.  There are small holes in the evaporator plates, and the sap gradually works its way to the front of the furnace, where the sap is more concentrated.   The whole thing is kept at the boiling point to boil off the excess liquid.  We add another few gallons of sap about every 15  minutes.

As the sap boils, minerals are boiled out and a white foamy scum forms.  From time to time this is skimmed off and discarded.  If you don't do this, it is more difficult to obtain really clear maple syrup.

The sap gradually works down the 7 partitions of the evaporator.  Each section is still boiling.

It is a constant chore to split wood and keep the fire going.

The goal is to have a good fire going at all times in the furnace.  Towards evening, we will draw off the near syrup with the faucet at the front, and filter it before bringing it inside.

It will take a couple days to boil up the sap we collected yesterday.  The sap is not running very good today, as the overnight temps were not freezing.  In order for the sap to run, there must be freezing temps overnight, and above freezing temps during the day.   The weather forecast for the next few days does not show freezing temps until Tuesday, so we will have a few days to catch up!  We collect sap until the trees bud out - then "buddy sap" makes for horrible tasting syrup and the season ends. 

Maple Syrup 2016, Part 2: Gathering Sap

Today Harold and I gathered the sap from all the trees we tapped the other day.   We got about 140 gallons of sap today, enough for 3 1/2 gallons of finished syrup!  It's a 40 to 1 ratio of sap to finished syrup, that is, it takes 40 gallons of sap boiled down to make one gallon of finished syrup.  We usually put our syrup into pints, so that means today we gathered enough for 28 pints of finished syrup! 
     It takes a bit of energy to gather sap and empty bags, and we're not as young as we used to be!  But we filled up our 55 gal sap drum almost 3 times today, and we haven't finished tapping all the trees we want to do.   It takes us about 2 to 3 hours to gather up all the sap.  At least the snow is gone, so that makes it easier to walk in the woods, although it's a bit muddy - boots are in order.   Here's what the sap gathering looks like today.  It was warm and sunny and 57 degrees out!  Most of the bags were quite full of sap.

A close up of a very full sap bag!

Two more very full sap bags on one tree!.  The bags can hold almost 3 gallons, so right here is about 5 gallons of sap!

 

 

The sugarbush looks a lot different now that the snow is gone. 

The bags are lifted off the screw hook and emptied into a 5 gallon food grade bucket.

The 5 gallon buckets are emptied into a 55 gallon food grade drum attached to our Cub Lo-Boy tractor.   We drive the tractor through the woods and gather sap bags on either side of the path.   Harold takes one side and I take another.

The sap drum is covered as we travel along in the woods.

When the drum is full, we drive to the bulk tank to empty it.

Harold and I have a bucket brigade to transfer the sap from the drum to the 300 gallon stainless steel bulk tank where we store all the sap.

Today's 140 gallons of sap ready to boil up tomorrow.

The tank is tarped for the night, to keep out leaves and debris.

Tomorrow if the weather holds, we will boil up sap all day long.  It takes 50 gallons of sap just to fill up the evaporator for boiling.

Maple Syrup 2016 Part 1: Tapping Trees

Today Harold and I began tapping maple trees.  We spent the better part of the morning doing this.  The sap is running well today.   We will continue this afternoon, but for now we are taking a little lunch break.   I took several photos this morning, and thought I would show you how things look right now!  As we go along in the process, each part will have its own photo article.

There is still lots of snow in the sugarbush (syrup maker's  lingo for maple tree woods)

Harold took the tractor and carved out a path to make it easier to drive and walk in.  We have several paths on our land for driving around and we try to tap trees along the paths so we aren't trying to haul heavy buckets too far into and out of the woods.  If we were younger we could go anywhere, but us "old folks" have to make things easier!

Harold uses a 31/64 drill bit to drill into the tree.  You drill at an angle, and only go until you still hit light colored wood shavings.  When you hit dark wood shavings, you have gone too deep.   Usually the hole is drilled between 2 and 3 inches deep.  Then a stainless steel bit is pounded in, and a bag is hung on a screw above the bag.

Some trees are large enough to support two bags!

If you look closely, you can just see a drop of sap beginning to drip out of the tap.

I am the official "equipment holder" as we go from tree to tree.   I hand Harold what he needs, and he does all the drilling and tree choosing.   He carries the 2 1/2 inch screws in his coat pocket, and I carry the tree taps in my pocket.  We've been making syrup together for almost 11 years now, so we have this whole process down to a science!

It's about 55 degrees out there now.  Supposed to be pretty warm tomorrow, too, and maybe rain.   At least with using the bags, we don't have to worry about rain getting into our sap.  In the old days using buckets, a person didn't want rain in them.   If the rain melts a little more of the snow, that's a good thing, too!  Less to have to walk in.
     People sometimes ask us why we go through all the trouble of making maple syrup when you can just go to the store and buy syrup.  We make it because we can!!  Because it comes from our own back yard, and because we know what's in it.    The pancake syrup in the store is chock full of high fructose corn syrup.  Our own maple syrup is a completely natural product.   We feel so blessed to have the opportunity to make the real thing!

The Sap Is Running!

With the warm weather we've had lately, we figured the maple trees would be running sap pretty soon.  Harold tapped a 'test tree' the other day, and today we saw that the bag he hung on it was 4 inches deep with sap!  The outlook for the next couple weeks looks like good maple syrup weather - highs in the 40's and lows in the 20's or near freezing.  So it looks like we will be busy tomorrow tapping trees!  This winter Harold made about 200 sap bags, so we're all set to tap a couple hundred trees.   But so much to do!  We need to get the sap buckets washed, get the outdoor bulk tank scrubbed and tarped, get out the equipment like thermometers, large pans, wool filters and plenty of jars.  Harold needs to get firewood ready, scrub the evaporator pan, check the chimney on the evaporator furnace, get the 55 gal collection drum ready, and get the low boy tractor started and running good.   I need to prepare plenty of "quick food" like sandwich fixings - ham and cheese or egg salad - and some cookies, and have plenty of carry-along fruit on hand.   When we're out running sap bags and boiling sap, there's no time for real cooking.   Meals are grab and go.  (Some cinnamon rolls or a coffecake or two is nice to have on hand for visitors, though!) We will be very busy for the next few weeks!

 It's a little early this year on the maple syrup, but it's been a mild winter.   The Canada geese are coming back, and the trumpeter swans are also back.   It's so nice to hear them again!  Spring is just about here!   Stay tuned .....................I hope to put some photos of this year's maple syrup season on here real soon.

Raisin Cinnamon Swirl Bread

When the weather is nasty and cold and windy, sometimes it just seems like a good idea to sit down with a great big cup of coffee and a little something to "go with" the coffee.  This is how Minnesotans manage through the winter, ya know!  We look at the weather through the window and exclaim how bad it is out there, and how nice it is inside!  At times like these, here is a good recipe for that "something to go with" the coffee - Raisin Cinnamon Swirl Bread.   (If you don't like raisins, you can certainly eliminate them in this recipe!)  I make this bread often, and on occasion I sell it at our market stand - it never lasts more than 10 minutes.   The recipe makes 4 nice sized 8 x 4 loaves.   You can put 1 or 2 in the freezer for later, keep 1 or 2 for yourself, and have 1 to give away to a friend. 

RAISIN CINNAMON SWIRL BREAD

2 pkgs (or 2 T.) dry yeast

1/2 c. warm water

1/2 tsp. sugar

     Put this together in a small bowl to proof. 

Meanwhile in a large bowl: 

1 1/2 c. milk

1/4 c. sugar

1/2 stick of butter or margarine

2 tsp. salt

     Combine and scald in the microwave for 3 minutes, until the butter melts.   Mix up everything good.    When it cools down, add: 

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Flour until you have a dough you can knead (about 5 c.)

     Knead in about 2 cups of raisins if you are using them, and continue to add flour and knead until the dough is soft and elastic.   As with all sweet breads, don't overwork the dough.  Knead just until things are combined nicely and the dough springs back when you poke a finger in it.   Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled. 

     Meanwhile, make the filling: 

1/2 c. sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

Stir to combine and set aside. 

    When double, punch down and divide into 4 equal parts.   Roll out each part into about an 8 x 12 size, brush with water (use water, not more butter) and sprinkle with one fourth of the mixture of sugar and cinnamon.  Roll up and seal edge and put into a greased 8 x 4 loaf pan.  Do every part like this.   Cover and let rise until double, and then bake at 375 for 40 minutes.  Immediately take out of pans, and brush with melted butter if you like, but this is optional. 

Each part of dough is rolled out to about 8 x 12 inches, brushed with water and sprinkled with a mix of sugar and cinnamon. 

The four loaves of bread ready for the second rising.

The finished product! Slice it thick and don't forget the butter!

When the loaves are cool enough to slice, call your friends over - they will be happy you invited them.   And they will ask where that 'extra loaf that is supposed to be for friends' is located!

It Has Begun! (A Little Chit-Chat About Seed Starting)

Yesterday afternoon I got started on my 2016 gardening season!  Some plants need about 12 weeks to really get going - especially petunias and peppers.   They are slow to germinate (sometimes as much as 3 weeks), and they are slow growing seedlings.  So I figure if I plan to put the plants out in the greenhouse by early May, I am probably already "behind schedule"!  I started all the different varieties of peppers that I plan to grow except for the largest variety (still waiting for the seeds to come in the mail, but the seed company says they shipped them so it should be arriving soon).  This year I am going to grow those wonderful tiny little sweet peppers that are getting to be so popular.  You know - the ones that are little red, orange and yellow and come in a zip baggie at the grocers.  Sometimes they are called lunchbox peppers or mini bells.  They are great for snacking, for dips, and when you just need a small amount of chopped peppers for a dish.   Often the big green or red peppers are too big for one recipe, so you end up having to put the rest of the pepper in a baggie in the fridge (and then you often forget about it until it becomes a science experiment!).   But these little peppers are so good and so sweet.  I'm hoping to grow so many of them that I can put a variety into containers to sell at our vegetable stand this summer.
     I also started 4 trays of petunias and pansies.  Some petunias are red, or white, or blue, or wave type, and plenty of them are various shades of pink.   I just love petunias!  They are easy to grow, so colorful, the bees love them, and so do the hummingbirds.   A neighbor gave me some seeds from a gorgeous shade of deep purple wave petunias she had - hope I have good success with them because they were absolutely stunning in a hanging planter.
     Every couple weeks I will be starting more plants.  Next on the list is tomatoes - I will try my usual variety of Rutger's Select, plus a couple of determinate varieties and some yellow tomatoes.  I just discovered how delicious yellow tomatoes can be.   Determinate tomato varieties grow to a certain height and most of the tomatoes ripen at once.  Indeterminate varieties grow to any height and have continuous production.  After last year's "greenhouse jungle", I decided that determinate varieties of tomatoes would be better suited to greenhouse growing!
     I like to start my plants using a good potting soil.  After trying many brands of potting soil, I am convinced you  can't beat Miracle Grow brand with the extra slow release fertilizer.  The 6 month Miracle Grow is, in my humble opinion, the best potting soil to use.   I save whatever trays and inserts I can from previous years and ask friends to save pots for me.   Then I set up everything on the kitchen table and have fun:

I usually remove the big pieces of sticks and debris found in the potting mix.  It might be OK for larger planters, but for little seedling cups it is more of a hindrance than a help. 

A good cheap way to mark the seedling cups is to cut up the lids of ice cream pails and use a fine point magic marker to write on the strips.  It is permanent and I also use the larger strips out in the main garden too.

Cut up the lids of ice cream pails for seedling markers and for garden markers.  The best part is that you "have" to eat all the ice cream in order to get the markers!!  ha! (Or you could stay skinny and get your friends to save them for you, but that's no fun!)  Write on the strips with a fine tip marker.  I have some that last from season to season.

A tray of petunia seeds marked and ready for germination.  I put the plastic clear dome on top and keep things moist.  Later I thin out the seedlings and transfer the best ones to other pots to grow bigger.

If you enjoy gardening, I urge you to start your own plants.  It is SO easy and a lot cheaper than buying them from the local garden center or nursery.   Plus you know exactly what you are getting.  You can buy organic seeds or heirloom varieties, too, and then you know you won't have anything GMO.  To be even thriftier, you can save your own seeds of non-hybrid varieties and save even more money.   I start my plants in a sunny window on a few large boards across sawhorses by my big bay window, but if you don't have a big sunny window, you can still start plants inside any room with a table set up, and some grow lights.   I got two grow lights at Home Depot and they were about $12 each.  Here is a photo from a few years ago (2012) showing the way we set up the grow lights:

We have grow lights on a frame.  Even though I have the plants in a sunny window, I still run the grow lights in the evening to give the plants a boost of light.  When I go to bed I turn off the grow lights until early evening of the next day.  If there is a string of dark cloudy days, the grow lights come in handy for extra light for the plants.

Yes, It's Still Winter..........

I haven't written much lately on the blog because it is that time of winter where everything is frozen and quiet.   No holidays.   Nothing going on.  Just cold and snowy.   This weekend we were hit with a good blizzard.  The high winds yesterday (45 mph so they said) blew everything into huge drifts, and we are snowed in until the plow can come down the road.   At times I couldn't even see out the big bay window because the snow was blowing so hard.  And it is still blowing hard out there today, too, AND we're getting more snow.
     So until spring gets here, it is time for a lot of rest, reading, and finishing sewing projects.   I snapped a couple photos this afternoon to show how things appear.   Nothing special - just Minnesota winter!

The greenhouse has deep drifts all around it.  It seems to be holding up well, though, to the winds and cold.

The cat's house is almost buried in snow.  I slide in a tray of food and water twice a day.  They spend the rest of their time sleeping in the insulated box in there.   On a sad note, our favorite kitty Popeye has been missing for almost 2 weeks.   We suspect an owl or an eagle got him, as these birds were circling the area.  He was the smallest cat.