As I said in the blog when I tapped Maple Trees just under three weeks ago this is my sixth year cooking down sap.
As I have said many times this is a long, long process. Let me say that again...loooong. I originally was going to do this on Sunday but a number of things got in the way. I had biathlon to watch, it was really cold that morning (it is winter still) and I just wasn't feeling up to snuff so I put it off until Tuesday. I got up pretty early and it felt like winter out, but it didn't take long for it was more like Spring which is appropriate for syrup making.
The first half of the process means feeding a lot of wood on the fire and pouring more sap in as it cooks. I don't have a really big pot so I have to use two. The process of adding sap goes on for over six hours as I quit this about 2 pm. Dad did have a good idea to put a reflected metal sheet behind the pots to keep the heat up. Then it was a few more hours as it cooks down. Then at about the nine-hour mark, I combined the pots (it is easier trust me).
After this, the process picks up speed. At about 5:15 I took the liquid from the fire, poured it in a small pot, and put it on the NuWave 2 Induction Cooker. I can control it better, but last year I took my eye off the ball and boiled it out. I wasn't making that mistake this year and kept my eye on the prize and it paid off. I produced my biggest haul ever as I cooked down 750 ml (about 26 oz). It filled up a whiskey bottle! So, yes this was a successful year making that Tennessee Maple Sap...
enjoy!
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