Author Topic: Tapping Maples (Read 5979 times)

Rebel SS

Anyone plan on tapping some trees to make syrup? I used to do this with my ex FIL right around this time of year when the warm-up came. We'd boil it down on his little woodstove in the garage. Had to keep the stove going overnite. So much work for so little syrup, though......

mike89

sure tastes good though!!!

gophergunner

My neighbor down the street taps his sugar maples and I'll see the fire going in his sugar shack down there. Sure brings back the memories. We used to do it when i was a kid. If memory serves me right it was something like 65 gallons of sap for a gallon of syrup?

mike89

I thought 40 gal to one gal. ???????????

gophergunner

I could be wrong-it's been a long time.

Rebel SS

Rule of thumb is forty to one....40 gals of maple sap to make one gal of syrup.

LPS

I did it years ago and it was fun. But very labor extensive. Takes lots of hours of boiling to get a little bit of syrup. We did even have to add maple extract to get a good maple flavor. Still fun to do and may do it again.

Rebel SS

I told Glenn a bit ago to bore a hole in himself and let the sap run out...

gophergunner

Quote from: Rebel SS on February 02/18/18, 08:08:38 PM

I told Glenn a bit ago to bore a hole in himself and let the sap run out...

I don't think they got taps hard enough for that..........or long enough!

glenn57

Quote from: gophergunner on March 03/02/18, 05:08:01 AM

Quote from: Rebel SS on February 02/18/18, 08:08:38 PM
I told Glenn a bit ago to bore a hole in himself and let the sap run out...
I don't think they got taps hard enough for that..........or long enough!

hey now!

your starting to sound more like some of these clowns now!!

Steve-o

dew2

I did tap trees every year once I came back to Mn in 1986 Did it with my Dad through the 60s an 70s till I left Mn . It was great to get outside after winters lock up.Tap trees while cuting next years fire wood.I boiled it down in a 1/2 aluminum 50 gal drum cut lengthwise over a outside fire. No suger maples around 20 miles south of Duluth.Red maples and a few boxelders.My yield was 55 gallons of sap to one gallon of b grade syurp.Always made 2 gallons or close to that.Tapped maybe 40 50 trees with homemade spiles,They were just copper pipe.Loved doin it!! Course when the family found out they came for visits and I had to stached 1/2 gal for me

mike89

always a looking for a handout!!!

Lee Borgersen · « *Last Edit: March 03/02/18, 03:03:28 PM by Lee Borgersen* »

From tree to breakfast table: maple syrup making at Minnesota state parks

.....
When we think of a food source in Minnesota, we often consider grain fields, gardens, poultry farms, orchards, and cows. How often do we think of a maple tree? State parks are home to thousands of maple trees from which pure maple syrup is made. Attend a free program at a state park and learn about tapping maple trees while using tools found in the kitchen.

....
Programs start on March 3 at Whitewater State Park (near Winona). Attend the 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. program or the 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. program. Sign up by calling 507-312-2308, or by emailing sara.holger@state.mn.us.

...
More maple syrup programs will take place at several Minnesota state parks throughout March and early April. For the complete schedule, and more information about how to tap trees and make maple syrup, visit www.mndnr.gov/maplesyrup.

..
At some parks, stop in any time for a syrup-making demonstration; others offer hands-on instruction with a taste of the finished product. Participants learn how to identify and tap the right kind of tree as well as how to boil the sap collected until it is ready to serve. It usually takes 30 to 40 gallons of tree sap to get a gallon of pure maple syrup. Usually, the best time to collect sap has been between mid-March and mid-April, when temperatures are in the high 30s to mid-40s during the day and below freezing at night.

The maple syrup programs at Minnesota state parks are free, but vehicle permits are required to enter the parks ($7 for a one-day permit or $35 for a year-round permit). Due to space limitations, some programs also require advance registration. Occasionally, due to extreme weather or other conditions, an event may need to be canceled or changed. When in doubt, call the park.

For more information, contact the DNR Information Center by emailing info.dnr@state.mn.us or by calling 888-646-6367 (8 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday).

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dew2

Quote from: mike89 on March 03/02/18, 02:13:52 PM

always a looking for a handout!!!

Aint that the truth!! Smoked suckers too,They seldom visited till they wanted something from syurp,smoked suckers and to loan tools!!!!!! Some which I never saw again!!!!

Rebel SS · « *Last Edit: March 03/02/18, 08:28:05 PM by Rebel SS* »

Smoked suckers!!! Makes me think of Spring and that same ex-father-in-law...we'd get a bunch of those around the same time we were sapping, and smoke them in the home-made smoker...angle iron frame and door bolted together, old sheet metal panels, old 'fridge racks inside, and a metal pie plate full of apple chips on the bottom. Washed down with a cold longneck...... that was livin'!