They Said It Was Too Early

They said I was tapping our trees too early but I am so glad we did. I was able to get out more taps and buckets this year than ever before and the first run of sap was the best! We are hoping for a plentiful maple syrup season this year!
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[@mikestrothotte467]

Let the sap freeze and pull out the ice. This actually concentrates the sugars a bit and shortens up the boil. It is also called Poor Man’s Reverse Osmosis.

[@OakKnobFarm]

I tapped early here too in NH... and I have 45 gallons ready to boil this weekend! I'm excited, it's only our second season

[@nyannyan123456]

how many trees do you have tapped? I pulled in 15 gallons on 23 red maples today. Perfect weather here in Ohio.

[@OakKnobFarm]

@@nyannyan123456 I only have 10 tapped this year. We've had great flow today, and weather looks good for the rest of the week. I hope to have 60-75 gallons at boil time on sat/sun. It's running strong

[@nyannyan123456]

Well thanks to sslfamilydad I decided to try the whole maple syrup thing. I live on a 10 acre woodlot near Michigan. I only have red maples but decided to give it a shot. I only tapped 23 trees and fabricated my own 3`x3` stainless steel evaporator. I've made 2 1/2 gallons of syrup so far this season. A absolute success I'll be quadrupling my syrup production next year tapping a 100 trees.

[@SSLFamilyDad]

That is so great to hear! Good luck this year and next!

[@cassityart7001]

Yum! 🥞

[@northgeorgiasanctuary2626]

I’m buying some this year! Can’t wait.

[@rustyvt4470]

You don't want to overboil the syrup. Apart from the risk of scorching in the evaporator, having a sugar content higher than the Vermont % (which is slightly higher than US) will result in crystallization in the bottles over time. Basically, you'll get rock candy in the bottom. Tasty, but it tends to make your syrup crunchy when you pour. When you "draw" finished syrup, if it's heavy, you should add small amounts of the boiling near-syrup until you achieve the exact mark. We call this "standardization." Never use sap or water to standardize, because the un-sanitized nature of the unboiled fluids can cause fermentation in the containers. Also, be sure you're testing the syrup as hot as possible. A common mistake is to let it cool too much or get cold from contact with cold test cups, etc., which produces wrong results with the hydrometer. Likely first boil today in rural Vermont. Thanks for the videos!

[@mattdawson7055]

Even with water freezing in the buckets with the sap when you boil the water will evaporate correct ? I cant see the point in throwing it away may as well cook her up

[@suzanneleblanc1077]

Yesterday on Justin Rhodes channel he wanted to make beds he just goes to the lumber store and buys all he nees but not very many people can do that, the way you o it it's smart an free, bravo!

[@CraigFogus]

We live just east of Cincinnati, OH. We have about 12 taps. We started collecting sap a couple weeks ago, and we have about 110 gallons of sap thus far! Fun time! Keep up the good work!

[@scottlee2825]

So do you try and process every day or two? If you do not have enough quantity, what is longest you will let sap sit in the bucket.

[@SSLFamilyDad]

The sap can sit for a few days in the buckets it just depends on the temps, too long and it will start to cloud and give an off flavor to the syrup

[@JollyRoger0]

Awesome video! :)

[@ronyerke9250]

Another plant those vines could be is Virginia Creeper. It's pretty common east of the Mississippi, even here in Michigan. It's not as bad as poison ivy, unless you've got sensitive skin or an allergy to it. Not entirely safe for most folks either.

[@matthewjohnson3910]

Great video thanks for sharing

[@andrewsarles3520]

I was putting buckets in the basement to thaw out! I use a giant pot! Seems like there's only about three days of sap flow and one week of freezing cold weather this year!

[@TheRickVannessShow]

What happened to the update on the plywood floor?

[@SSLFamilyDad]

I did a one year update on the flooring, the playlist is on the front of my channel page

[@fastflight2494]

Great video

[@sfcretired7999]

How can we buy some of your maple syrup and how much?

[@SSLFamilyDad]

I will do a release video when I have a supply available

[@DKuzzin]

A bottle of that first run syrup would be an excellent giveaway. Just sayin'...Haha! Go ARMY!!

[@SSLFamilyDad]

Hmmm. Maybe that is a good idea!

[@EastMesaUrbanHomestead]

As usual a great video SSL Dad. Thanks for sharing😎

[@RunamuckFarms]

We tapped our trees last Saturday and the temperature is rising this week so we are super excited as this is our first year making maple and birch syrup.

[@bradbusch9585]

Looking forward to trying some of that.

[@jgjg3848]

I think I would have cut down the dead tree, then back the truck into the woods...but alright...lol

[@SSLFamilyDad]

Lol, I am just that confident in my felling:)

[@jimlashbrook5429]

I watched a video where this guy said that ice didn't have any sugar in it. He started with 18 gal. of sap and by freezing it in a bucket and removing the ice a little at a time to concentrating the liquid. He then boiled down the "concentrated" sap and ended up with only about half a pint of syrup. At 40 to 1 I would say he through out a lot of good sap.

[@thecynic807]

How do I order a jar of that when it's time. Can i put in an early order.

[@evanmartin7809]

I too tapped my trees in February. It looked like the weather was going to change for the better. Unfortunately we got 2 good weekends, then I have had virtually nothing since. I've got about a pint of syrup so far, but I had probably 4 times that by this time last year.

[@augustreil]

Don't you dare throw away that ice, that's an old wives tale. Thumbs up !

[@jay90374]

Old wives are smarter than that, sounds like a noob telling stories.

[@augustreil]

@@jay90374, I'm a noob ?

[@spiritintheforest]

You can throw away the ice, I've measured the sugar content in it and it is barely perceptible.

[@HeritageHatchery]

You should auction off the First Bottle of Maple Syrup 2019. Make a special label: First Bottle of 2019 with your signature on it. My opening bid is $25. Thanks for all your time you put in your videos. Greetings from Alberta Canada

[@edemup44]

We are looking forward to buying some syrup. Last year we put it on everything. I think I ended up drinking most of it. LOL

[@jimsgardensandrabbitry]

So wish I had maples here. Great job on the video. Blessings.

[@joycemastaw910]

Loved the video. So much in one short video. We haven't started up here in U P. Too much snow and cold weather. Hope to start next week after rain🤔🙄

[@candiwallace6605]

The early bird gets the sap!!😍😍🌱🌱

[@selador11]

I forget who it was. Maybe Lumnah Acres? Boiled down ONLY the ice. And still got a bunch of good syrup.

[@nyannyan123456]

I boil my ice down. Theres definitely syrup in the ice.

[@FLPhotoCatcher]

The tapped holes in the maples will sometimes stop flowing even before the season ends, even if the weather is good for sap flow. There is a fungus that will act to 'clot' the tap sometimes after a few weeks or so. You can re-drill the hole bigger and add a larger tap if that happens. And the title needs more zing, lol! "The Best Syrup we have EVER Produced" would be better, and not be just clickbait. I may have to buy some maple syrup now.