On Sun, 04 Nov 2018 10:11:34 -0500, Gary > wrote:
wrote:
>>
>> Sqwertz wrote:
>> >Nevermind that maple syrup is made by boiling maple sap for hours.
>>
>> Actually maple sap is not boiled, it's barely simmered... and for
>> days.
>
>Commercial maple syrup is probably boiled rapidly in a container
>that also has mechanism to constant stir it.
>
>My inlaws made some in their barn one spring. In Galway, NY. -
>Isn't that somewhat close to you, Sheldon? They cooked it in
>their barn vs kitchen with a propane burner because they didn't
>want the smell in their house for days.
>
>Anyway, they told me about it. I don't know what size pot they
>used but I think they only made one gallon. They (just 2 of them)
>had to be in there to stir it almost constantly and add more sap
>as necessary. They had to sleep in shifts to keep it going.
>
>It took them 2-3 days to make the syrup. It takes about 45
>gallons of sap reduced to make 1 gallon of syrup.
>
>They never did that again. The general store right down the
>street sold local maple syrup for about $8 per quart (1998
>price). Much easier to pay $32 per gallon than spend days of all
>you time to make it 'for free'.
And it's hardly for free, all that heating fuel costs... many people
where I live purposely grow a stand of sugar maple for making maple
syrup. They use their own techniques and so produce different grades
dependent on when in the season the sap is gathered... gathered later
in the season produces B grade, it's darker but contains the same % of
sugar as the lighter grades (amber). I prefer B grade, it has the
strongest maple flavor.
Made in small quantities as you describe with constant stirring and
adding more sap it really doesn't boil, it's called boiling off the
water but the sap isn't boiling, all the stirring produces water vapor
that disapates, more [cold] sap is constantly added which prevents the
syrup from becoming thicker.
In commercial operations huge vats are used and the water is removed
pretty much the same as when makiing orange juice concentrate and
tomato paste... minimal heat is applied, just enough to produce water
vapor that is constantly removed via vacuum, there is no boiling...
actually the water is removed tantamont to how dehumidifiers work, by
condensation.... in a sugar house it's cold so the water vapor is easy
to draw off and it drips away, about the same as reducing a sauce
without boiling by tilting the pot lid. It's a slow process, that's
why it takes days but only minimal heat is applied. A sugar house
operates by depending on the great temperature difference of warmed
sap and icy cold air.
It's exactly what I've done to make tomato sauce from my glut of salad
tomatoes that contain a lot of water... not at all worth the time,
trouble and cost of propane. If rushed by applying more heat the
tomatoes caramelize, browned sauce tastes nothing like tomatoes, and
looks disgusting. I no longer bother making tomato sauce from my end
of season crop... I'll put up a couple three jars of sour fermented
green tomatoes from the most perfect ones of the same size, the rest I
call "over the fence", feeds the deer.
The Sugar Maple I planted two years ago, photo taken this fall:
https://postimg.cc/YGR8hLxX
Photo from last fall:
https://postimg.cc/VrzQxM64
I planted this maple two years ago, called Autumn Blaze:
https://postimg.cc/PvGZftg6
Same Autumn Blaze, photo taken a few days ago. taken with telephoto so
a bit blurry... I should be able to take the fence down in spring, in
winter hungry deer will eat anything:
https://postimg.cc/9w383HJ2