On Sun, 04 Nov 2018 12:44:41 -0500, wrote:

> 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

Blah, blah, blah. The sap is boiled regardless of all this hocus
pocus bullshit of yours.

-sw