Honestly, I’m not really feeling it this year. I need to order some filter cones and paper for finishing the syrup. Just checked my supplies and I’m low on the pre-filter paper, and completely out on the main filter cloth. My pop-up tent was destroyed last year in a storm, so need a new one of those for ghetto sugar shack 4.0 I believe it will be numbered this year. I’m good on barrels I believe. Have one for finishing and one for sap, just need to double check if I should order a new one. Have the burner ready and the tap into my house for unlimited propane supply.…
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This is just a quick run down and video on how to use the CDL Reverse Osmosis and how I used it as a hobbyist. Since I don’t filter my sap when I pour it into my containers (speeds up the process, especially if you have bits of frozen sap), I added an extra filter bag to my intake line. What I then do is add that line to my sap container and put my concentrate line back into the same sap container. This will allow me the time to build it up to the % concentrate that I wish for my sap to be – I aim for a…
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The final tally is: 9 gallons of syrup. Overall was a good year to make syrup, but not great for the production I had hoped. 50 taps at 1/4 of syrup a tap should be 12.5 gallons. I didn’t even make the bare minimum when it comes to production standards. I need to move away from some of my lower producing tress/taps and onto better pastures and not just tap them because they are there and convenient. The new Reverse Osmosis was a hit! I was able to get 7+% sugar in less than an hour instead of waiting and running it overnight. The new pan and guarding of the…
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Using maple sap (aka maple water) as a sports drink isn’t anything new. Here is an article back from 2014 proclaiming this: https://www.wellnesstoday.com/nutrition-recipes/maple-water-the-next-natural-energy-drink Ever since the coconut water craze, which I believe has come and gone, other products were looking to jump on the bandwagon. The Maple Industry was one and it also had the product. Maple sap has natural sugars, and perfectly suited as a recovery drink. I have the sap, I have the RO to get even sugar content… Why the Reverse Osmosis? I figure this is the best way to get to a consistent 3% sugar content and also because it will be filtered through the pre-filter…
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It has turned into a great year for maple syrup production. The year started strong but quickly went into a constant pattern of poor weather: Too cold, too windy, snowing, raining, etc. There were a few days in a row the gusts were recorded at 30 mph and I’m pretty sure I have a bucket or two that some squirrel is now using as a nesting site. No idea where they went so the buckets were replaced. I’ve come close to perfecting my bottling. I finish the syrup and pour it into a glass container. I then set up the filter and prefilter in this interesting wire rack setup made…
