fisher Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 First year tapping some maple trees. Been doing some research and wondering if anyone has some tips to share. I have one that I read about. With the cold weather and the sap freezing a bit, I googled what affect the ice would have on it and how long I could store it until I got enough to Boil. Apparently the water in the sap forms ice first leaving the unfrozen part more concentrated with sugars. They say you can skim the ice off so there is less water in the sap, resulting in a faster process when you finally boil it down. Anyone have any experience trying this? Also read you can store the sap for up to a week as long as temps don't go beyond 8-9 Celsius. Looking forward to hearing ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.brock Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 I'm not an expert at all, but I've kept it for 2 maybe 3 weeks, cool, shady spot, on snow, before boiling. How many trees and what are you using to boil it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fisher Posted February 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Only 6 trees this year. Small operation. Hoping to get 120 litres by Sunday for my first batch whcih should yield me 3 litres of syrup. Plan to boil it over an outdoor fire pit in a 60 litre large pot. I'll keep adding sap to the pot as it boils down. Hope to get it done by end of day. I'll adjust depending on how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Caster Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Sap is running already!? Wow. My trees won't be ready until mid to late march if I'm lucky. I kept sap for a couple weeks at a time by burying the full buckets (lids on!) in the snow; but my conditions are likely quite different than yours. And, yes, go ahead and skim off the bit of ice on top. The sap freezes too so don't be too zealous and start throwing out frozen sap. One of my favourite things to do is to grab that small chunk of floating ice and drink any liquid dripping off it. I can't wait for syrup season!! Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinker Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 We are tapping this weekend. Yes, skim the ice off, but only if it is a skim. Any more than a skim of ice and its sap....you dont want to waste a drop of that!!! I am surprised you even have sap flowing this week. Temps dont look good for my area anyways. Im hoping to join forces with a buddy of mine this year. I moved from my last place with the maples and now dont have any. We are shooting for 100 taps this weekend. S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fisher Posted February 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 It was flowing on Saturday and Sunday but let off a bit yesterday. I am in the GTA and the weather was great this weekend. Going get cold again according to the forecast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinker Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Yeah, I don't count on getting anything until at least mid march this year around here. 120 litres from 6 trees is a lot of sap. I hope you get it, but I have my doubts it will happen. I boil over propane in an 80l flat pan. Takes me about 6 hours. I like to start a batch and finish it all in one shot. I find when I add more sap to a batch the quality goes down for some reason. The first run of sap makes the best syrup! Love this time of year! S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmokestackLightnin Posted February 24, 2016 Report Share Posted February 24, 2016 For those who were prepared the first run of sap happened this past weekend. Some of the major players in my area were ready and have already boiled off their first run, earliest they have ever done that. The long range weather looks like things will be stopped for a while, but you can still get your taps in as the next run will likely be longer and provide syrup of similar quality. As mentioned by Sinker, the first runs of sap produce the best syrup. I also suggest you not add sap to your boil. A friend of mine who also produces at home was doing this and there was a noticeable difference in the taste of his syrup compared to the syrup I produced. I would suggest pouring it off and filtering it into another pot for a finishing boil. Depending on your volume you can boil off a number of batches to the almost syrup stage and then do a finishing boil with the number of batches. That should not affect the taste or quality. Welcome to the fraternity and good luck fisher in your efforts. Keep us posted of your efforts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeytier Posted February 26, 2016 Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 We got another foot of snow Wednesday night, and there's 60-70 cm forecasted over the next 4-5 days and overnite lows from -14 to -19 and nothing above zero in the long term. We have a TON of snow in the bush considering how late it was to show up, so this season might not end up being much earlier than last year if things keep going the way they are. Not that I'm complaining... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Caster Posted March 8, 2016 Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 how far north have the runs reached so far? I was going to hold off tapping until next week, but looks like things are lining up for an early run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinker Posted March 8, 2016 Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 We are running here now, but have no overnight lows coming to keep it flowing. What I collect today could very well be the end of it for me. This winter has sucked so bad for conditions!!!!!! GRRRR! We collected 120l two weekends ago, collected 110l last night, and hope to have the mother of all runs today. 146 taps....most I've ever had out, and the least amount of sap EVER. Crazy. I hope we can get a couple more runs in but its not looking good for me here. I guess I will get the boat ready.... S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinker Posted March 8, 2016 Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 how far north have the runs reached so far? I was going to hold off tapping until next week, but looks like things are lining up for an early run. The way its looking, you should tap asap and get every drop you can. S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Caster Posted March 8, 2016 Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 You may be right. We still have 3-4 feet of snow in the bush. But that will change quick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinker Posted March 8, 2016 Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 Its changing hourly here now. My bigger shaded trees have started running today. S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishfield Posted March 8, 2016 Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 Trees are tapped and running here in Penetang... other peoples trees that is, I don't have that much ambition ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fisher Posted March 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 Managed to make 1 litre of syrup couple weekends ago using 40 liters of sap. Have collected 60 litres more since (most of it in last two days) and should get a bunch more by end of the week. Thanks for all the tips. And good luck with your batch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Caster Posted March 8, 2016 Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 Nice light coloured syrup! Still four feet of snow in my bush. I tapped 5 trees and nothing starting, still ice at the base of the trees Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakerguy Posted March 9, 2016 Report Share Posted March 9, 2016 (edited) Sap ran all night last night and all day here. Stratford area. Going to start boiling tomorrow. Have about 2500 litres of sap now. Edited March 9, 2016 by lakerguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
north560 Posted March 9, 2016 Report Share Posted March 9, 2016 Heading to the bush today to start tapping,lots of rain yesterday and the weather did not drop last night, hopefully it will drop tonight. Tapping some new trees this year with any luck the weather will co-operate and we can get some sap this year suplly getting low in the cupboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Caster Posted March 9, 2016 Report Share Posted March 9, 2016 Where are you located North560? I'm close to North Bay. We also got the rain last night, and some +3-+6 temps this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acountdeleted Posted March 9, 2016 Report Share Posted March 9, 2016 Man, I'm envious of you guys. I long for the days when I can move out of the city and do stuff like this. Think anyone will mind if I start tapping the trees in High Park? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Caster Posted March 9, 2016 Report Share Posted March 9, 2016 We are planning a boil party in late March or early April. It's not so much a party as a few guys collecting sap, wearing t-shirts in the snow and drinking beer. Join us if you can! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acountdeleted Posted March 9, 2016 Report Share Posted March 9, 2016 Sweet. I think I can make it. I missed you guys this winter. Hope everyone is doing well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
north560 Posted March 12, 2016 Report Share Posted March 12, 2016 Hi, we are located about 3hrs northeast of you in Gowganda. Tapped some of the trees but the weather is not co-operating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Caster Posted March 12, 2016 Report Share Posted March 12, 2016 I'm just about ready to hit the bush and tap 20 more. I'm betting the run has started today or yesterday .. We'll see Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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