DPChallenge: A Digital Photography Contest You are not logged in. (log in or register
 

DPChallenge Forums >> General Discussion >> For maple syrup aficionoadoes...
Pages:  
Showing posts 1 - 25 of 66, (reverse)
AuthorThread
03/10/2015 01:48:55 PM · #1
Scroll to the bottom of the page to see the wheel in all its glory!

The Maple Syrup Flavour Wheel
03/10/2015 02:42:09 PM · #2
I think I need to fix myself a stack of pancakes before I read this.
03/10/2015 05:28:41 PM · #3
Just so long as it's pure maple syrup, which has no additives at all. Mu first batch almost always has marshmallow and vanilla notes to it; I've also made batches that have a toasty hint, one with something like almond in it, and last night I sampled some from last year's 2nd batch and found a very light coffee note in there. Now eager to dig out some Red Queen from two years ago and see what I can pick up from that.

As for Log Cabin, Aunt Jemima etc...all that gawdawful *table* syrup is just corn syrup jammed full of chemicals and fenugreek flavouring *shuddering*.

Message edited by author 2015-03-10 17:33:40.
03/10/2015 05:35:25 PM · #4
How fascinating. Our laboratory did some sensory testing on fruit - it had no where near the variety of flavors maple syrup can have. Reminds me of experiencing wine in the potential for complexity.

Yum! Thanks for sharing.
03/10/2015 08:07:45 PM · #5
Mmmm, think I might need to come up with a trade for you for the next harvest. I'll be learning the "right" way to jar tomatoes and cure meats from my Italian side. Those do anything for ya? :)
03/11/2015 12:04:05 AM · #6
Our guys tapped 1400 trees this week! Here's hopping you have a great sap run Susan!! The weather is looking good so far!
03/11/2015 07:51:38 AM · #7
Originally posted by aliqui:

Mmmm, think I might need to come up with a trade for you for the next harvest. I'll be learning the "right" way to jar tomatoes and cure meats from my Italian side. Those do anything for ya? :)


Mmm Italians make really good cured meats, so that really piques my interest!

@ Enlightened...1400 trees eh? I bet they're going to be busy this season! How many taps total?

So far tree #5 is kicking everyone else's butts, there's about a gallon out there in the pails but I don't have time this morning to collect and filter it. And of the 6 spiles in the virgin bush's 3 trees, 5 were starting to produce yesterday :-)
03/11/2015 10:23:04 AM · #8
Wow what a coincidence this thread was started...I just ran out! I'm from upstate New York and my Dad always brought some to me when he visited us in Florida. Unfortunately my Dad passed the end of last year (well that was hard to write.) And so I have lost my supplier too. :( I can't even look at store bought so will have to maybe look at ordering online.
03/11/2015 10:51:44 AM · #9
Originally posted by snaffles:

Just so long as it's pure maple syrup, which has no additives at all. Mu first batch almost always has marshmallow and vanilla notes to it; I've also made batches that have a toasty hint, one with something like almond in it, and last night I sampled some from last year's 2nd batch and found a very light coffee note in there. Now eager to dig out some Red Queen from two years ago and see what I can pick up from that.


Am I to understand you're making your own maple syrup? Tell us more.

Originally posted by snaffles:

As for Log Cabin, Aunt Jemima etc...all that gawdawful *table* syrup is just corn syrup jammed full of chemicals and fenugreek flavouring *shuddering*.

I thought there was a name for the additive that gives it that distinctive fake maple smell. I smell it when people microwave their maple oatmeal packets here at work. Makes me sick.

Call me a snob, but I also insist on the real thing. Now I'm eager to do some "sampling"...
03/11/2015 11:52:49 AM · #10
Originally posted by bvy:

Am I to understand you're making your own maple syrup? Tell us more.


She certainly does.

And, she is kind enough to document the process complete with pictures. It's a fascinating glimpse into a different world.
03/11/2015 01:01:11 PM · #11
There is a big and old maple tree in my front yard; how would I know if it will have good sap inside?
03/11/2015 01:59:12 PM · #12
Originally posted by MadMan2k:

There is a big and old maple tree in my front yard; how would I know if it will have good sap inside?


No reason that the sap won't be perfectly fine - that is, clear - it should look like water. Hopefully your tree doesn't have any burls but a nice straight trunk? But only for the short window when the days are above freezing and the nights below freezing. If you go to Mapletrader.com there is a section at the bottom for all the various states that tap; I believe Oklahoma is there. May want to do some reading there first, the season may be almost over or just starting, I don't know...I hang out in the Eastern Canada thread mostly. MT is a fantastic resource.

Anyhoo if you want to try, get thee to the nearest co-op or hardware store, see if they have a couple of spiles. If they're the old metal kind they will be 7/16ths; if the new plastic blue spiles, 5/16ths. You will need a couple of pails (doesn't matter if they're plastic or metal) and lids. And if you get metal spiles, you will need to get the little hangers; the blue ones have the hangers for the pail built in.

Get home, and set one tap on the south side and one on the west, You do this by drilling a hole approx chest height with the correct-size drill bit. The blue spiles are bastards to set properly; the tiniest bit of drill wobble and the damn things will fall out and then you have to re-drill a new hole, which you never want to do! Drive in the spiles with a hammer; you shouldn't be able to pull them out. Hang the pail, put on the lid, and wait. PM me if any questions, but honestly MT is the sugarer's version of DPC when it comes to range of topics and depth of knowledge. Look for the forum headed Buckets, Brix and Basics, about halfway down the page.

Message edited by author 2015-03-11 14:06:23.
03/11/2015 02:02:26 PM · #13
Originally posted by bvy:

Originally posted by snaffles:

Just so long as it's pure maple syrup, which has no additives at all. Mu first batch almost always has marshmallow and vanilla notes to it; I've also made batches that have a toasty hint, one with something like almond in it, and last night I sampled some from last year's 2nd batch and found a very light coffee note in there. Now eager to dig out some Red Queen from two years ago and see what I can pick up from that.


Am I to understand you're making your own maple syrup? Tell us more.

Originally posted by snaffles:

As for Log Cabin, Aunt Jemima etc...all that gawdawful *table* syrup is just corn syrup jammed full of chemicals and fenugreek flavouring *shuddering*.

I thought there was a name for the additive that gives it that distinctive fake maple smell. I smell it when people microwave their maple oatmeal packets here at work. Makes me sick.

Call me a snob, but I also insist on the real thing. Now I'm eager to do some "sampling"...


I've got a Maple Gallery up in my portfolio page, and have posted threads over the years about sugaring. And I can only wince when you describe what your coworkers are cooking up in the microwave...*stomach queasy now*

The real stuff is easy to come by in stores, and of course will be pricier than the fake crap. I may have some to trade this year, so if you have regional goodies that you can send me, I could send you some syrup.
03/11/2015 02:04:35 PM · #14
Okay, I'm really intrigued. I have a mature silver maple in my backyard. I can honestly get syrup from one tree? I'm in Western Pennsylvania.

ETA: Just now seeing your response. Regional goodies. Hmm. Yes, we may have to talk...

Message edited by author 2015-03-11 14:08:55.
03/11/2015 02:11:53 PM · #15
Originally posted by bvy:

Okay, I'm really intrigued. I have a mature silver maple in my backyard. I can honestly get syrup from one tree? I'm in Western Pennsylvania.


You can definitely get sap from one tree - right now #5 is leading the pack, probably 2g by now, while #9 is still dry but will come aboard soon. Hard to say how much any one tree will give.

If both you and MadMan can post recent pics of your respective trees, I can try to give a little more advice. Right now I am saying only two spiles/spouts per tree, as it's better to err on the conservative side. All of my trees take 3 spiles.

See the advice I just posted for MadMan2K, check out Mapletrader and read the forum for Western Pennsylvania. If you guys are lucky stores will still have sugaring equipment in store.

Also might want to try Atkinson Maple Supply.
03/11/2015 02:49:36 PM · #16
There's one on my front page (Moonlit Night). I'll check out these resources (already visited Mapletrader) and try to post a more descriptive picture of the tree later... Thanks!
03/11/2015 02:56:39 PM · #17
Starting our bee hives. May have to work out a trade with unmolested honey for some maple syrup if you are game!

Eta: Northeast Texas honey

Message edited by author 2015-03-11 14:57:21.
03/11/2015 03:08:32 PM · #18
I took a vacation to Montreal and Quebec City last year. While in Quebec City we visited the Isle of Orleans and took a tour of the maple syrup making process at ÉRABLIÈRE RICHARD BOILY. It was amazing. I took home about 3 bottles of syrup and am almost out now. I plan to purchase more through their website soon. I will never use mass produced bottled syrup, or as they called it telephone phone syrup, ever again.

One of my favorite items that they produced was was a sort of maple butter. A thick spread which is perfect on toast.
03/11/2015 03:27:04 PM · #19
Yum I do plan to try making maple cream this year...not sure if it's the same thing as maple butter or not. Could be! :-)

Again, storebought syrup is perfectly fine, so long as it says 100% maple syrup, and doesn't come in a plastic squeeze bottle.
03/11/2015 03:51:28 PM · #20
MadMan2k is in Oklahoma. The ten day forecast has highs in the 60's and 70's and no lows below freezing. He may be out of luck.

Originally posted by snaffles:

You can definitely get sap from one tree - right now #5 is leading the pack, probably 2g by now...

So, 2 gallons of sap translates into a final product of how much syrup -- 2 cups?
03/11/2015 04:16:13 PM · #21
I think the sap:syrup ratio is closer to 30:1 ...
03/11/2015 04:20:25 PM · #22
Yeah, our weather is pretty nuts here. Saw some 75-80 degree days, then down to 10 a couple weeks later after the tree started to have buds. Now it's in the 70s probably for good.

But here's a picture of it:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/115436857@N06/15868201147/

I'll peruse the site but the temperature thing makes me think I missed the window this year.
03/11/2015 06:27:20 PM · #23
Originally posted by markwiley:

MadMan2k is in Oklahoma. The ten day forecast has highs in the 60's and 70's and no lows below freezing. He may be out of luck.

Originally posted by snaffles:

You can definitely get sap from one tree - right now #5 is leading the pack, probably 2g by now...

So, 2 gallons of sap translates into a final product of how much syrup -- 2 cups?


Yeah...if the tree's budding, the window's definitely closed. Trees seem to like a range of 45-65 degrees during the day for tapping. Any higher than 70 degrees and the resulting sap often comes out of the tree in a noxious, cottage-cheesy form that apparently smells REALLY bad. When sugarers get sap like that, it gets dumped on the ground.

Mostly in school they'll teach that it's a ratio of 40:1, based on a 2% sugar content, though the actual range is about 35:1-50:1. My trees usually give me a sugar content of 3%, so I can make 1l of syrup from 37l of sap.

So, 2g of sap might give you a 1/2 tsp of syrup. ETA: sat down and did the maff, worked it out to approx 19ml of syrup from 2g sap :-)

Last year was a record year, with my total being 407l of sap which at a sugar content of 3%, made approx 19l of syrup.

Here's how much sap each tree gave: #1-70l; #2-98.5l; #5-72l; #6-102l; #7-19l; #9-46l.

ETA: MadMan, could you get a full-length shot of the tree? Also if you get the circumference of the trunks it's easier to estimate how many taps it could take.

Message edited by author 2015-03-12 18:46:42.
03/11/2015 09:51:27 PM · #24
Mmmm, syrup.
03/12/2015 06:44:11 PM · #25
Originally posted by kawesttex:

Starting our bee hives. May have to work out a trade with unmolested honey for some maple syrup if you are game!

Eta: Northeast Texas honey


Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner - yes definitely would be interested, esp if honey was made by killer bees ;-)
Pages:  
Current Server Time: 03/28/2024 04:48:49 PM

Please log in or register to post to the forums.


Home - Challenges - Community - League - Photos - Cameras - Lenses - Learn - Prints! - Help - Terms of Use - Privacy - Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2024 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 03/28/2024 04:48:49 PM EDT.