[TheForge] Maple syrup

Sun May 7 21:13:52 EDT 2006

Yeah, hard cider made from maple... whirlygigs (it is the fruit of the
maple)?  yeah, that's the ticket!  Sounds like the spruce gum I used to chew
as a young hippie dude, before crowns replaced fillings, ha!

Kevin (I'm keeping what teeth I got, real or sculpted)

 -----Original Message-----
 From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
 [mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net]On Behalf Of Ralph Sproul
 Sent: Sunday, May 07, 2006 9:06 PM
 To: Sponsored by ABANA
 Subject: RE: [TheForge] Maple syrup

 	If your going to make something as a product of New
 England......wouldn't
 hard cider be more traditional ?    :-)

 Ralph

 -----Original Message-----
 From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
 [mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net]On Behalf Of Kevin Donahoe
 Sent: Saturday, May 06, 2006 7:12 AM
 To: Sponsored by ABANA
 Subject: RE: [TheForge] Maple syrup

 Hydrometer, used in homebrewing, too :)  Measures the specific gravity of
 fluids... now, what would some Maple syrup wine be like?  Yankee
 mead, yeah,
 that's the ticket!

 Kevin (ain't made homebrew in years)

  -----Original Message-----
  From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
  [mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net]On Behalf Of Ralph Sproul
  Sent: Saturday, May 06, 2006 5:39 AM
  To: Sponsored by ABANA
  Subject: RE: [TheForge] Maple syrup

  	Phlip, What a nice disertation on maple syrup - well done, Thanks!

  	What is the gadit to know when the syrup is done? I can't
  remember but it
  was something like a spectrometer - (wild guess) ? or some kind of sugar
  content gauage of sorts?  Granted one can usually tell by color
 and taste -
  but that's how it's tested in large batches by the syrup makers that I've
  visited every spring.  Major passtime of spring being right around the
  corner here........  sitting around telling stories while it boils.   :-)

  Ralph

  -----Original Message-----
  From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
  [mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net]On Behalf Of marilyn traber
  011221
  Sent: Thursday, May 04, 2006 1:41 PM
  To: munlaw2 at hcsmail.com; Sponsored by ABANA
  Subject: RE: [TheForge] Maple syrup

  > So my question to all of you out there that have made maple syrup or
  > know how to do it, how do you do it?  I mean, seems like the use of our
  > burners (modified forge turned on end) is a great way to produce a
  > lot of heat.
  >
  > Thanks,
  > Jeff In Phoenix

  Yeah, I made it as a kid.

  As was mentioned, you need to have the right kind of maple trees for the
  sap,
  sugar maples, and you need to live in an srea with distinct
  seasons, because
  the right time to get the sap, spring time, when the roots are sending the
  sugary sap up the tree to feed the leaves, etc, is important. It's also
  important to be careful about how many taps you put on a tree- you
  don't tap
  trees under a foot in diameter, from a foot to about 2 ft, only one tap,
  etc.

  Once you have the sap, as you know, you need to boil it down, as was
  mentioned, in flat pans. However, you need to be very careful not
 to let it
  boil over- it needs to be at a steady simmer, not a rolling boil,
  or it will
  boil over.

  The reason for the flat pans, as your friend discovered, is
 efficiency, but
  you CAN boil it in anything that will hold water- it just takes longer.
  Usually the pans are about 4-6 inches deep, about a square yard in
  area (for
  home sypuping), and the sap itself is usually no more than 2-4
 inches deep-
  shallower, you're likely to burn it, deeper is less efficient.

  One thing a lot of home syrupers do is hook pans together with a
  siphon, and
  only add sap to the first pan- that way, once you have the series started,
  you can add sap to one end, and dip syrup out of the other end. Also, the
  pans tend to have baffles in them, so that if one tilts a bit, you
  don't get
  a tsunami of boiling syrup and sap splashing all over you, the fire, and
  everything else. From the top, looks sorta like this, if you can read this
  diagram:

   __________________________________________________________
  |                                                          |
  |______________________________________________________    |
  |                                                          |
  |    ______________________________________________________|
  |                 First Pan                                |
  |______________________________________________________    |
  |                                                          |
  |    ______________________________________________________|
  |                                                          |
  |___________________________________________________0______|
  |                                                   0      |
  |______________________________________________________    |
  |                                                          |
  |    ______________________________________________________|
  |                                                          |
  |______________________________________________________    |
  |                  Second Pan                              |
  |    ______________________________________________________|
  |                                                          |
  |______________________________________________________    |
  |                                                          |
  |__________________________________________________________|

  The 0 is where the siphon would be.

  As far as burners, I've seen the commercial set ups with long burners,
  rather
  like the gas burners under a gas bbq grill, for even heating, but usually
  the
  back yard syruper will simply make a wood fire of some sort- we
 used to buy
  slabs from the local lumber yard.

  It's not something you can set up and walk away from for more
 that 10 or 15
  minutes. You really need to keep a fairly constant eye on things, making
  sure
  the fire stays up and the sap/syrup doesn't boil dry (good way to
 burn your
  pan up) or boil over (good way to make a Hel of a mess).

  A couple of tips:

  Rubbing butter on the edges of the pan will help prevent it from boiling
  over, although if you're REALLY neglectful, nothing will ;-0

  And, the chilled sap is a nice drink by itself- rather like ice water with
  just a hint of sweetness.

  Help any?

  Phlip

  _______________________________________________
  Manage membership or unsubscribe at:
  http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
  theforge mail list group photo site is
  http://www.photoaccess.com
  Login:  blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
  password:  anvil
  ___________

  _______________________________________________
  Manage membership or unsubscribe at:
  http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
  theforge mail list group photo site is
  http://www.photoaccess.com
  Login:  blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
  password:  anvil
  ___________

 _______________________________________________
 Manage membership or unsubscribe at:
 http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
 theforge mail list group photo site is
 http://www.photoaccess.com
 Login:  blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
 password:  anvil
 ___________

 _______________________________________________
 Manage membership or unsubscribe at:
 http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
 theforge mail list group photo site is
 http://www.photoaccess.com
 Login:  blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
 password:  anvil
 ___________