Finally!!!

The tapping is closed off, the cooking is now complete...

Yesterday I finally pulled the plug on all remaining Maple tree's at my friend's property. I had only gotten a few gallons in the past 4 days and trees were starting to bud, so I simply ended things - To keep getting a trickle, then wait to have enough to boil was absurd!

I pulled all of 1 1/2 gallons yesterday and as you can imagine I used a much smaller pot today to boil it down. It took no time at all, and in fact I got distracted long enough that the temperature in the pot actually zoomed right past the point of making Maple Syrup and now I have Maple Candy! I could have reincorporated some water into the mixture and re-boiled it, but thought what the heck.

What REALLY amazes me is that the settlers to our country used Maple Syrup, Maple Candy and Maple Sugar to sweeten almost everything as sugar was hard to come by (I remember much of that from The Little House stories Mom read me as a kid!) - I CAN NOT imagine making THAT MUCH! Even the 5 quarts/9+ pints I processed - Plus the handful of Maple Candy - amounts to nearly nothing. I can't imagine getting through an entire year on that if I used it to the extent the settlers did...

If you care to learn more about the history behind making Maple Syrup in the US, there are many REALLY good websites out there - Check them out, or better yet, next year try making Maple Syrup on your own... The process is rewarding, fun and pretty easy!

History of Making Maple Syrup in Michigan
Michigan Maple Syrup Association
Maple Syrup Story

Running Low On Steam

I may have to face the fact that my 2009 Maple Syrup making is coming to a close. I started pulling taps the other day ~ Amazingly enough the two oldest trees produced the least amount of sap this year (and they didn't produce for very long) so I pulled those taps the other day!

The smaller Black Maple trees I tapped this year are still producing some, though today when I went to collect sap I ONLY got 3 gallons. I notice some budding throughout the yard too. *SIGH* I will likely pull the remaining taps this weekend if I don't do it before then...

On the brighter side, the budding means SPRING is on it's way!!! Time for new gardening projects to begin.

Maple Syrup Facts - FAQ's

I can't believe the number of questions I have been asked now that I have posted my maple Syrup making to friends on my Facebook page. I found a GREAT resource online at the Michigan Maple Syrup Associations website, but here are some answers to my frequently asked questions...

• Maple sap is slightly sweet and colorless - My kids enjoyed "sipping" the sap directly from the tree!!!


• It takes approximately 40 gallons of maple sap to make 1 gallon of maple syrup. *sheesh*


• A maple tree needs to be about 40 years old and have a diameter of 10 inches before tapping is recommended.


• Pure Michigan maple syrup has 50 calories per tablespoon and is fat-free. It has no additives, no added coloring and no preservatives. It is classified as one of nature's most healthful foods. It certainly isn't Mrs. Butterworth's!


• Michigan law requires that Maple Syrup processors be licensed - I guess that would be me IF I were selling my product - And NO I am NOT selling what I have made. Are you kidding, you couldn't PAY me enough to sell what I have collected. (I HAVE been asked this question too.)


• The maple season in Michigan typically starts in February in the southern Michigan and runs into April in the U.P. Looks like this year I may get two weeks of processing time...


• The trees produce the most sap when the days are warm and sunny (in the 40's) and the nights are below freezing...


• Once the trees begin budding it's time to "pull the plug" on your Maple Syrup making adventure.


• In an average year, each tap-hole will produce about 10 gallons of maple sap, enough for about a quart of pure Michigan maple syrup. So far this year I have processed 4 quarts and 8 pints - Plus we probably ate another pint!


• Maple sap becomes maple syrup when boiled to 219 degrees Fahrenheit, or 7 degrees above the boiling point of water.

There are many GREAT resources on the web. If you are interested in making your own Maple Syrup I urge you to take a class and read more on the process, it's fun and a GREAT family activity!!! As always though - Safety first.

Maple Tree Tapping Video

Our host Steve wanted to take a quick video of us tapping his trees - I think he's getting a kick out of the kids and I making the Maple Syrup! Take a look at the unedited footage of our experience...

How To Make Maple Syrup

I have had MANY friends the past few days ask me, "Just how DO you make Maple Syrup?" It's REALLY not that difficult really, so here is my 5-second lesson on making maple syrup.

Tools: A drill driver with appropriate sized drill bit, a tap for the hole, a hammer, a container to collect the sap in (milk jug), plastic tubing, wire to secure the container to the spout and something to cut the wire/tubing with. You probably have most of this laying around the house!

Types of trees to tap: The best tree to tap is of course a Sugar Maple Tree however Black, Red and Silver Maple trees also work - I tapped Sugar maple trees and Black maple Trees!

Steps to Making Maple Syrup:

1) Drill a small hole approx 4' up the trunk above a root or below a tree limb. I used a 3/8" bit or a 1/2" drill bit.

2) Insert a tap.

3) Attach a hose and container to collect the sap!

The hardest part of making maple Syrup is the processing - in general it takes 40 gallons to boil down to 1 gallon of syrup. No wonder REAL Maple Syrup is so expensive.

The sap will be mostly clear as you can see in the photo of it in the measuring cup. Once you have a bunch collected it's time to cook it.

It's best to boil down the sap every day to avoid spoilage. This year I boiled it on the stove using a low-sided larger container (in my case I used my roasting pan!). You need to keep boiling and boiling until most of the water is boiled out - Then once water is boiled out you'll need to bring the temperature of the syrup is 219-degrees. It will become a sticky amber colored liquid that will be a bit thinner than Mrs. Butterworth's!

I double strain the Maple Syrup while it's hot and put it into canning jars - It needs to be HOT to can otherwise you can put it into the fridge once it's cooled to use in relatively short order! Use the best food safety precautions when canning your syrup.

We'll store it until we ate it!!!

Paper or Plastic?

... More appropriately it should read plastic or brass?

As I mentioned earlier, we bought our commercially available Maple Tree taps locally. they were made of plastic, which is a little difficult to easily hammer into the tree. I also felt the tap was a little narrow so I went to my local hardware store to see what I could find as a better option.

At first I thought about cutting PVC pipes into an appropriate length, however while browsing I ran across these in the plumbing area. They are 1/2" brass plumbing fittings that just happen to have ribs in them so I can easily secure my plastic jugs to the tree. Pretty cool huh?

The best thing is I was able to purchase 5 of them for what it cost me to buy 1 real Maple Tree tap! I was assured too that they would not harm the trees I am tapping!!!

Boil, Boil, Toil and Trouble

Boiling down Maple Sap to make Maple Syrup IS a lot of work, if you considering watching liquid boil difficult! Our syrup this year is light amber and very "buttery tasting". It is smooth and sticky though, and makes a GREAT ice cream and pancake topping!

We ate our first batch tonight - YUM-O!

Dripping Liquid Gold!

We only got a little Maple sap the past few days - Enough to make Maple Syrup for our family, however I am thinking about giving out Maple Syrup to our families and friends as gifts too... My friends and family mostly think I am nuts for making the syrup, however I think they will greatly appreciate the fruits of our labor!

We tapped 5 more trees for a total of 14 taps. You can make maple Syrup from several varieties of maple trees and most of the smaller trees were not Sugar Maple trees, but the sap sure was running. It was running so much that I had to get the buckets tied up quickly!!! Again the kids thought it was cool to drink from the trees - Before we even left the property, some of the buckets had over an inch of sap! (NOTE - It takes approximately 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup!)

We'll be excited to see how much sap we get now!!! I could go along the back of Steve's property to tap more trees, I think though this year I'll wait it out. I am boiling the sap off in my kitchen out of my roasting pan, so it'll take time. If this is something the kids REALLY enjoy and we want to do in future years I'll tap more trees and get a few more shallow pans to boil the sap down in.

Tap, Tap, Tap...

The kids and I tapped two 70-or-so year old Sugar maple trees today - They were large enough to get three taps into each tree. The taps I bought from Downtown Home and Garden were made of plastic however and they were not the easiest things to work with. As soon as I drilled into the bark however the trees began dripping. That's a good sign!

Steve (our Maple tree host) thought it was pretty funny that I had my two little guys running around on his property. Mostly though he laughed when the kids drank the Maple tree sap directly from the tubing! I wasn't sure if that was a "cool" thing or slightly disturbing!!!

Steve has MANY more Maple trees along the back of his property line and some more in the yard, so I'll likely come back in the next few days to tap a few more trees. I simply don't know how much sap to expect from the "Monster trees" in the front yard!!! It takes forever to boil down the sap to make syrup so we'll see...

Winter Warm Up

Like most gardening aficionados in Michigan I have begun getting "that itch" ~ You know what itch that is... The urge to begin planning, pl;anting and getting dirty! It's a bit unrealistic though, as it is a typical Michigan winter and we're smack dab in the middle of February. Gardening to me however isn't ONLY about the plants. It is some type of project or experience involving the outdoors and being able to save the fruits of Mother Nature's labor!

Last year my family and I took a class through the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation program. It was a short program called "From Sap to Syrup" given by Faye Stoner. My children were young (only 2 and 4 at the time) but they really got into collecting the Maple tree sap Faye allowed us to collect, and we made a whopping 3 pints of Maple Syrup!!!

I suppose I was bitten by the bug, or maybe it was that old itch, but I WANTED - No needed to do something, so I decided we'd tap our own trees this year.

We live in a relatively new sub with few trees, so finding someone that would let me tap their trees became the biggest challenge, one easily overcome by placing a post on Craigslist with my specific request. I bought my taps from Ann Arbor's Downtown Home and Garden, so now we wait for the right timing...

We're having a warm-up right now, however a quick note from Faye suggested we wait until the first of March to be really sure the sap would be running... My instinct is to tap them now but I'll wait...