As soon as the days get over freezing and the nights are below freezing, the sap parade is on the march.
This year we are tapping in our wonderful neighbors' woods. They have a plethora of maples.
Over the river and through the woods to the maple trees we go.
Just a little drill into the side of the tree some plastic tubing and food grade pails with a hole in the top.
The small trees have a couple taps, the largest has 6 taps.
We did pick up a sap boiler that holds 40 gallons...and runs on wood... this isn't it... this is just the potbellied stove on our porch. We're boiling the first couple gallons right on top while it warms the porch. But hopefully the sap will get running this week as we have some warm-to-us days. It takes about 5-86 gallons of sap to get 1 gallon of syrup depending on who you ask!
I think its 32 gallons of sap to1 gallon syrup. I don't think you will get 1 gallon of syrup from 5gallons of sap. We get about 2/3 a cup of syrup to a1 gallon.
ReplyDeleteWe put that because I had looked it up and the number that came up was 86 gallons. My husband had remembered 32 gallons (are you related?) and for funsies we decided to look at Wiki which is NEVER wrong (haha) and laughed so hard when we saw 5 - ?40? gallons No, we aren't planning on getting a gallon out of 5 gallons but we'd be rich if we could! hahaha
ReplyDeleteIt depends on the sugar content in the sap. I have made very nice thick syrup from as little as 5 gallons of sap to 1 syrup and other times needed much much more.
ReplyDeleteyou can tap basswood and black walnut it can take 60-80 gallons sap to make a gallon of syrup
ReplyDelete