This year we decided to try our hand at producing some home-made maple syrup. With three giant maples on our front lawn, it just seemed sinful not to. I was fore-warned and studied up on the amount of time and patience required for such a hobby. But indeed I am just stubborn enough to try anything once, despite how laborious something may be. I had some preconceived notions in regards to maple syrup. For instance, I thought sugar was an added ingredient to maple syrup. Turns out it's not. (For those whom were as "maple-syrup ignorant" as I.) Sap from maple trees has a low sugar content, but when the water is evaporated out is extremely sugary (and sticky...FYI) and pretty much the best thing ever. The only problem is the amount of time that it takes to evaporate the water out of the sap. It took me a complete ten and half hours yesterday to boil down approximately eight gallons or so. That was all on my kitchen stove top in a large canning pot, which never successfully came to a boil. And so, I transferred the sap to smaller pans to boil. Which took copious amounts of both time and sticky steam. Lesson learned. The recommendations of not boiling sap in the house were indeed correct. Some of us just need to try for ourselves and learn the hard way.
And so, today I grew in wisdom and marched down to our local hardware store and purchased me a turkey fryer. Which I am enormously happy with. Yet another awesome investment.
The sap came to a full boil, and far quicker than the too-large-pot-on-the-stove-method. As an added bonus, the sticky steam filled the front porch, rather than my kitchen.
I am slightly amazed that something so awesomely delish comes from a tree. It's good. Like incredibly good. My only regret? That I didn't start earlier in the maple-making season. Next year we'll be tapping sooner. Much sooner.
Now....bring on the pancakes.
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