One of the things we love here on the farm is Maple Syrup from our farm maple trees. This weekend Tim & I tapped the trees in anticipation for the sap run! Sap run entails above freezing days with freezing or colder nights. This temperature fluctuation pressures the sap to rise in the trees when it’s warmer, getting ready to feed the buds that will grow into leaves and seeds. When it rises, it drips through the taps into our milk jugs attached to the trees.
We collect about 10 gallens a day or more…it takes 40 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup. It’s a daily process but gets me outside everyday collecting and checking out the wildlife & I drop some grains off for the deer and turkey too! This keeps my mind off the anticipation of Spring…which takes so long to really develop here in North Central Pennsylvania..by the time were done, it’s here….
Enjoy our Maple season, I’ll be adding more about it and pictures as the jugs begin to fill and we cook it down on my studio wood stove.
The final product!
Maple Syrup 🙂
The process of tapping maple trees, collecting the sap, and making maple syrup (one of the many uses of maple sap) is actually quite simple. It does, however, take some time and a willingness to get outdoors and experience this miracle of nature (literally tapping into Mother Nature). Here is a great site to get you started if you want to try. http://www.tapmytrees.com/
We actually use the plastic spiles and tubes into milk jugs. Less debris in the sap and less spillage. We were very happy with them from www.oldcobblersfarm.com or here is their ebay link.
Tapping Maple Trees 1
Drilling the hole for the tap
Tapping Maple Trees 2
Running two taps to one jug
Tapping Maple Trees 3
Hammering in the tap
Tapping Maple Trees 4
Tim drilled and I hammered
Tapping Maple Trees 5
We could hear the tap tap of the sap dripping
Ready for Pancakes
Our fresh Maple Syrup and favorite mix
Looks like a great deal of work with a wonderful reward. I’ve only had pure maple syrup a couple times from my son’s friend in Vermont. Not much tapping of trees in the city – farm life looks so rewarding! Looking forward to reading more.
That looks so cool! I’m assuming there has to be a whole environmental situation to get maple syrup?? Right kind of trees, weather conditions, etc?
And, I’m guessing it is not harmful to the tree? I’m thinking I need to sample some!
I don’t know how you find the time to help out with the sap, but it’s interesting to see how it’s done. Bet Aunt Jemima has to hammer lots of holes. I’ve never had fresh maple syrup, but I bet there’s a big difference.
Haha! I don’t think Aunt Jemima uses maple syrup at all. I’ll be covering some stages of the sap and how the lighter colors early on are very mild and yummy and later towards the end of sap season, it becomes darker and a bit stronger in flavor….still good…just not the smooth flavor of the golden syrup. I grew up on the Aunt Jemima…and once we started our own, never looked back! I have a great recipe for salad dressing I’ll be sharing when I have time…stop back!
“INGREDIENTS: HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, WATER, CELLULOSE GUM, SALT, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, CARAMEL COLOR, SORBIC ACID AND SODIUM BENZOATE (PRESERVATIVES), SODIUM HEXAMETAPHOSPHATE”