Winter continues to linger in these here parts. The temperature has barely cracked the freezing mark. Flurries blanketed the sidewalks with snow again this week. And I still can't see the garden for the snow. On the bright side, spring is making some headway. The creek at my in-laws place is flowing with the melt and, more importantly, the sap is running.
Thank goodness for the chance to make some maple syrup. It's a welcome distraction from a winter that just won't let go. Here are three tapped maple trees and the buckets that catch the sap. It looks just like H20 and tastes like sugar water.
Drip. Drip. Drip. You'd be surprised how fast these buckets fill up.
Once the buckets are full, it's time to collect the sap. We used a t-shirt to strain it.
At this point, the operation shifts into the sugar shack.
The sap is poured into a giant pan and slowly brought to a boil over a wood-fired stove.
Voila! Maple Syrup to enjoy with breakfast.
And, of course, there's always plenty to share with family and friends. What a great Canadian tradition. I think I'll plant a Maple Tree.
Winter continues to linger in these here parts. The temperature has barely cracked the freezing mark. Flurries blanketed the sidewalks with snow again this week. And I still can't see the garden for the snow. On the bright side, spring is making some headway. The creek at my in-laws place is flowing with the melt and, more importantly, the sap is running.
Thank goodness for the chance to make some maple syrup. It's a welcome distraction from a winter that just won't let go. Here are three tapped maple trees and the buckets that catch the sap. It looks just like H20 and tastes like sugar water.
Drip. Drip. Drip. You'd be surprised how fast these buckets fill up.
Once the buckets are full, it's time to collect the sap. We used a t-shirt to strain it.
At this point, the operation shifts into the sugar shack.
The sap is poured into a giant pan and slowly brought to a boil over a wood-fired stove. 
Voila! Maple Syrup to enjoy with breakfast.
And, of course, there's always plenty to share with family and friends. What a great Canadian tradition. I think I'll plant a Maple Tree.
6 comments:
A tasty treat. This post makes me hungry. Thanks for showing us how maple syrup is made. Don't you wonder how the first person figured out how to tap a maple and make syrup?
I find the whole process quite fascinating. How neat to make your own maple syrup...please pass the pancakes? :-)
Reminds me of growing up in Binghamton, NY. I used to help my granddad tapping and collecting. grandma did all the boiling down. It was quite a production. We always had homemade syrup throughout the year.
I am a Canadian who really loves eating maple syrup, yet I've never actually seen the process. Thanks for the pictures!
Hi everybody. glad you enjoyed the post. the sap should still be running next weekend so there's more collecting to be done. good thing...because it is still too darn cold to do anything in the garden.
irena
Looks like fun and those waffles look yummy!
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