The Post COVID Clock Was Ticking On Getting Some Maple Syrup Done!

Do you remember when I tapped trees back in early February...I didn't either and the time arrived to cook it down to Maple syrup. Actually, it was past time. I pulled the taps the day before I was diagnosed with COVID. So, my plan to cook down the sap was delayed because of being sick & then getting a "RONA" Rebound. After three weeks that meant the clock was ticking on the sap, I gathered (not to, also, mentioned what I had frozen last year). See, sap does go bad eventually. Since I already had sap in the freezer I didn't have room for more and it needed to be used eventually. 

So this weekend it was time...and I mean it takes a lot of time to make Maple Syrup. I started at 9 am and finished around 8 pm, that's 11 hours. At that time it is mostly about the gathering of wood and feeding the fire. For the first six hours, I had two pots, to which I add sap before boiling it off. Finally, I get it to one pot for two more hours. 

Around 6 pm it gets to the point where I need a more controlled boil and move it to an induction burner. Then it is 500° before it gets down to that final hour where I reduce the temperature and watch the candy thermometer get to 219° which time it is done. I always ask if is it worth the work? I keep doing it so I guess that is the answer...