Red Ring Tupperware Party, Autumnal Equinoctal Edition (24)

I actually didn't think you could fake maple syrup. It is either made from maple trees, or not. If I tasted fake, I betcha I would know it.

When backpacking or canoeing, we have taken maple sugar, and made syrup with it by dissolving in hot water. Tasted great, but then just about anything did in the backcountry.

BearLeeAlive wrote in post #17481241
I actually didn't think you could fake maple syrup. It is either made from maple trees, or not. If I tasted fake, I betcha I would know it.

When backpacking or canoeing, we have taken maple sugar, and made syrup with it by dissolving in hot water. Tasted great, but then just about anything did in the backcountry.

The fake stuff is mostly corn syrup, with just enough maple to flavour it.

Jill-of-all-Trades wrote in post #17481245
The fake stuff is mostly corn syrup, with just enough maple to flavour it.

Not too big on corn syrup, other than an ingredient in something.

42 quarts of sap is the final tally for today. Propane tank is getting rather light, will have to go get it refilled tomorrow morning. We're already down to -2C so tomorrow should run nicely as well.

Jill-of-all-Trades wrote in post #17481297
42 quarts of sap is the final tally for today. Propane tank is getting rather light, will have to go get it refilled tomorrow morning. We're already down to -2C so tomorrow should run nicely as well.

How much syrup will that make?

Becky N wrote in post #17481301
How much syrup will that make?

About a quart.

This is completely off topic, but so exciting. Love to see pictures of the tapping and the final product. Sounds delicious. How far are you from me in VA? And I just bought some organic maple syrup at Costco last month. Been using it for our Saturday morning breakfasts. Love it! A little thinner than usual, but still.

Jill-of-all-Trades wrote in post #17481303
About a quart.

I knew it reduced a lot, but wow, that is quite a reduction.

Becky N wrote in post #17481309
I knew it reduced a lot, but wow, that is quite a reduction.

It's a 40:1 reduction. It's a lot of time and effort, but the results are sweet!

SuzyView wrote in post #17481304
This is completely off topic, but so exciting. Love to see pictures of the tapping and the final product. Sounds delicious. How far are you from me in VA? And I just bought some organic maple syrup at Costco last month. Been using it for our Saturday morning breakfasts. Love it! A little thinner than usual, but still.

About 700 miles.

Pretty much all maple syrup would be organic, unless something has been added to it. Certified organic would be something a big company might do. Getting certified as organic is a lengthy process and surrounding environments need to be controlled. Most sugar bush operations would never fertilize the trees, or even spray unless there was an infestation.

I love maple syrup but as I am living with a cancer survivor, all sugar is totally off the plate. Sugar is like rocket fuel for cancer cells and eat it long enough, it will seriously mess with your insulin tolerance. So alas, we have given up all sugars.

Becky N wrote in post #17481309
I knew it reduced a lot, but wow, that is quite a reduction.

Most of the syrup we produced over the years ranged from 65 to 80 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup. 40 to 1 is outstanding, I'd love to work at ratio.

And with that, the propane tank is empty. Majority of the sap is boiled down, just some of the later stuff to get down to about 80%. Tomorrow will be the fun day of finishing this batch.
Going to try making some maple lollipops. Picked up some sticks and I think my aebleskiver pan might be just the right size.

Woolburr wrote in post #17481482
Most of the syrup we produced over the years ranged from 65 to 80 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup. 40 to 1 is outstanding, I'd love to work at ratio.

That's what sugar maples are supposed to be at. I'll see what today's batch boils down to.
1% sugar content takes 86 gallons to get 1 gallon. 2% takes 43 gallons.
The content seems to fluctuate, sometimes it seems like I get almost nothing, other times it's a great supply.

tap those trees: