This weekend we put the finishing touch on making our own syrup from the maple trees in our yard.  We were inspired after reading an article in the Minnesota Volunteer magazine.  We have thoroughly enjoyed having a vegetable garden, apple trees, pear trees, raspberry and strawberry patches, bluebird houses, and flower gardens every year, so this sounded like a nice addition to everything else we do in the yard.  We were complete rookies, which meant we had to get all the “equipment” for the process.  It was a lot less intimidating than I thought it might be.  The spiles (the spigot thing you insert into the tree) were available from Fleet Farm and so were the bags to catch the sap. We drilled a 7/16 inch hole 2 inches deep in 4 of our silver maple trees.  After a couple of days, we had plenty of sap collected.

Now it was time to start the boiling process.  We did not have anything to boil the sap down with so we went and bought a turkey fryer.  The sap to syrup ratio is about 10:1 so it takes a long time to boil the stuff down and you need to do this step outdoors.  I assembled the turkey fryer and got the sap ready to go.  I was preparing to fire up the turkey fryer only to realize they have a “safety” feature that shuts the unit down after 15 minutes.  What?  I guess its another step to protect us from ourselves.  Oh brother!  I was not going to reset the thing 25 times as it was boiling, so a slight modification was in order.  After 2 hours and $20 later, I was able to bypass the safety mechanism.  O.K.  I think we were ready.  I fired it up and started boiling the sap.  After 6 hours,  it was still 3/4 full.  That was a little longer than I thought it would take.  I had to shut it down and go at it again on Sunday.  After another 5 hours on Sunday it was ready to bring inside for the final boil down.

As the sap was finishing, I was not sure when it would be finished.  After some more investigation, I determined that when the temperature was 7 degrees above boiling, it would be done.  I also needed to strain it when it was completed.  Ah, with what?  Well I guess you use wool or orlon. Duh!  So, since I had plenty of both those items on hand I was ready to go – NOT!  Who has that stuff around?  And what is orlon?  A trip to Walmart ensued.  Asked the Walmart lady, she had no clue.  I settled for cheesecloth.  I made a mental note to get the right stuff for the next batch.  I strained it and canned it.  The total 1.5 quarts.  Man is that stuff good!  It tasted super sweet and had a slight caramel taste.

I am completely amazed at what we have in our own back yards that brings us such satisfaction in life.  God’s creation is so complex and simple at the same time.  I walk into the yard and stop and revel in the beauty that is all around us.  How does all this stuff work?  Being a part of this circle of life brings me ever closer to God.  I am so awed by it all.