[Ohboy7]

A hobby I've been doing for about 14 years now, ran about 50 taps this year on some tubing and some buckets. Last sap boil in a new evaporator for this year. Just commitments and other spring jobs to do so pulled all our taps and steaming down to where I can finish and bottle. Always enjoyable even with the work involved. Nothing else tastes like it.

 

[UserNameTaken]

Sweet cooker thing.

How many trees do you need to produce a gallon of syrup? I heard it takes 40 gal of sap for a gallon. Just curious.

 

[UserNameTaken]

Never mind I just looked it up. Between 2 and 8 trees. Each tree makes from 10-20 gallon of sap. Now I know why it's so expensive.

 

[Ohboy7]

Yes that's the general guideline. Each tree has a bit different sugar production so I usually need more like 50 gallons of sap to end up with a gallon of syrup.

 

[gungatim]

I've always wanted to do this, bought books on it and everything. I just don't know what i'd do with the syrup. I don't like pancakes, and my Mrs. Butterworth sugar free syrup is half full and I bought it when the bottles were still glass...I wonder if you can ferment it and make rum?

 

[sarge912]

Not sure where you are but I have heard that sap production was way down this year in Ohio. Was yours pretty normal?

 

[Cat wrangler]

Nice setup! Boiling from start to finish gives a much better product than using reverse osmosis, IMHO.

I did not do syrup this year. My set up is very rudimentary but it works. There is nothing like getting outside in early spring to hear and smell the season changes. The Killdeer are back here so the season will be ending soon here.

 

[Ohboy7]

Not sure where you are but I have heard that sap production was way down this year in Ohio. Was yours pretty normal?

My season and sap did seem pretty normal. Some of the bigger operators may have noticed something. Been a pretty mild winter for me, no long freeze and barely any snow where I am.