Sapping season
It looks like we could get a full two weeks of perfect sapping weather. Our maples are Manitoba maples. Our sap to syrup ratio is 40:1.
We put in almost all of our spiles today. We ran out of buckets & lids. We are trying to figure out what we might have that can be fill in collection containers. Right now we have about 20 going.
We've already got 6 gallons of sap ready to start heating tomorrow.
Comments
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We straightened that one bucket out. That tree is producing very well!
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Do you drink some sap too? We have helped a friend tap trees one year but we did not get to taste the sap- I heard it was very refreshing.
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It is actually! There is a company from Quebec that packages & sells the sugar maple maple sap. What a smart money maker! We used it as natural electrolytes/rehydration for judo competitions.
I did taste it. As the season progresses, it gets sweeter. Some trees that are just starting aren't as sweet as the others that have been going for a few days.
Right now, it tastes like "tree" with a hint of sweet. It is clear as could be. The sweeter sap is only slightly thicker than water.
Later on once we boil it down, and it is noticeably sweeter but not finished, we will make some tea. I found that rooibos was a perfect combination. Lemongrass or lemon was horrible!
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We have a company here in BC selling birch sap or birch water, that started out as a local product not far from me. Its been bought out by a larger corporation (as with many small successful businesses) but its still a good product.
They have some flavoured products, too, but I don't care for them. I do like the plain birch water.
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I'd heard of it, but I think I figured it was too expensive at the time...maybe it had to do with shipping.
I wonder if it would be any different now or if it might even be available around here sometime soon.
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Boiling it down in a restaurant lasagna pan! The trees are flowing well.
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I will be very interested to find out if we had a good sapping season this year. I expect it's mostly over in New England by now. I haven't had a chance to walk up the hill and talk to my neighbor with the maple syrup business. It's time for me to buy a couple more gallons of syrup anyway. :-)
We had several days of extremely warmth for April, with highs around 80 Fahrenheit. Now things have cooled off again this week, but I still don't see any frost in the forecast.
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