Rutty Buck Syrup Co. (Minnesota Maple Syrup Season-2022)

[Spinaker]

It is finally warm enough for the sap to be flowing in east-central Minnesota. We had a really slow start to the season this year, but all our trees are tapped and the sap is starting to flow. This week should be very promising with temps in the 40's during the day and high 20's at night. We had our first boil this past weekend and we produced about 1.25 gallons of syrup out of roughly 25 gallons of sap collected. While not all of our trees are currently flowing, I certainly expect that to change this week.

We had an all day event. Kids, parents, grandparents and dogs running all over the place. The KBQ, Outdoor Oven and the PBC were all in play for dinner items as well. What a great day! More to come for syrup camp 2022!

[Jerod Broussard]

I have some maple syrup in the fridge. Mine came from a Walmart tree aisle. Very simple collection.

Do you pay off a grader...uuurrrrr I mean have it graded??

[Jerod Broussard]

Spinaker the heck it ain't, the lid gets welded shut between uses

[texastweeter]

Have heard that the maple business is basically a cartel. Spinaker are you the ElChoppo of the north?

[Spinaker]

You could say that. @texastweeter

...did you hear that? LOL .............. Jerod Broussard

[jfmorris]

This is so cool. The closest to this in my family was some family reunions down in the Waycross / Blackshear area of S. Georgia, where they would use the old mill on one of the original homesteads from the 1800's to grind sorghum or sugar cane down and make syrup from it during the reunion weekend. The main difference was rather than a mule, someone strapped the boom or whatever you call it from the mill to a 4 wheeler that idled around in a circle to power the mill...

[Bkhuna]

Given the choice between maple and cane syrup, I'll take cane every time. Guess it's because that's what we grew up with. We go to a cane squeezin' every year and always buy a few pints for loved ones who have moved away. Biscuits, cane syrup and black coffee was my Grand Dad's weekly breakfast.

[ssandy_561]

Maple Syrup is incredible. Love the stuff. I always have some in the house.

Where I grew up in Western New York there was a Maple Syrup farm. It has changed quite a bit since my youth. It’s now one of my favorite restaurants of all time because of both the food and decor. They still produce their own maple syrup they sell and also use it in their restaurant. They also have a free range turkey ranch where they raise turkeys for use in their restaurant.

Sprague’s Maple Farm is in Portville NY. Here are a few photos.

Entrance sign



Restaurant and syrup production building



You can actually watch them make syrup while you wait for a table during late winter / early spring.



The dining room of the restaurant.



Whenever we head back to Western New York we always stop here for breakfast or dinner and pick up everything maple related. Maple syrup, maple butter, maple sugar, maple cream, maple candy. They got it all.

[Spinaker]

Very cool. I would love to have that set up! Thanks for sharing.

[smokin fool]

Not too many sugar bush left in this area, developers have pretty much raped everything but you can still head 40 mins or so north and find maple stands that are producing.
Apparently my uncle in New Brunswick has a maple stand he harvests every year.
Never sends anything up here though....

[Spinaker]

Not too many sugar bush left in this area, developers have pretty much raped everything but you can still head 40 mins or so north and find maple stands that are producing.
Apparently my uncle in New Brunswick has a maple stand he harvests every year.
Never sends anything up here though....

I have about 10 trees in my back yard that I tap. 10 or so at my Dad's and then about 30 at my buddies place. All of them pretty old stands. Around here, we have larger, old lots that have a lot of trees that are grown back in. Thankfully.

[Soonerpop]

I assume there will be sample bottles for all at the Texas Meat-Up next month. Look forward to seeing you and the surp.

[texastweeter]

I'm a molasses man myself, wife loves maple syrup though.

[Spinaker]

Another good syrup haul this weekend. The sap is really starting to flow. We collected 325 Gallons of this past week. Here was our haul from the sap we collected just on Saturday into Sunday. Great color all around, we are pretty happy with the yield so far this year. Just gotta slap some labels on these for the farmers market!

[RustyHaines]

Spinaker I'm assuming no one in the picture is drinking maple syrup?

Nice cooker set up. Curious, did you but the pan or have it made?

[Spinaker]

Yeah guy, you can't syrup camp in anything else. Plus, its still cold up here. LOL texastweeter

[Spinaker]

Well we have tastings. We bought the pan, but made the barrel stove. The kits are like $50 on line for the door, stand and stack adapter. I am making a bigger one for next year. RustyHaines

[skipsdaughter]

Nice work! I'll share with you the Maple Sap song, written by a student of mine when I worked in central Minnesota and we went out and tapped so many maple trees:

Part of Minnesota history
This sweet elixir is a mystery
In this sticky situation
We need a clearer explanation

It’s a complex transportation
Don’t mistake it for transpiration
Root pressure’s not enough
To move this silly stuff

And any capillary action
Or cohesion-attraction
Is never going to be
Able to carry you to me

Starch breaks down to go for a ride
Into a colony of disaccharides
They’ll go traveling from the roots
On a journey up to shoots

The Season of the Melting Snow[1]
Is when you freely flow
Conditions are just right
With sunny days and freezing nights

Air-filled fibers tightly nestled
In between your water vessels
Icy bubbles under pressure
Melting to reveal your treasure

Come with me, climb the hill
Tap the tree with your drill
See the sap rush out to greet you
And know that soon it will treat you

The sugar shack is heating up
Pray to God[2] we’ve got enough
Diluted sap in the evaporator
Sixty-six percent[3] a few hours later
Eighty-six parts[4] of this stuff
And a whole lot of love
Will make my pancakes happy
And cheap coffee not taste crappy[5]

Better than your Aunt Jemima[6]
Though it takes a lot of time-a
Won’t you join me in my mission?
Come enjoy the old tradition

---

[1] Native Americans who started the tradition of syruping in North America used to refer to the time of year when sap was collected as "the season of the melting snow."

[2] Maple syrup production at St. John’s was initiated by Catholic Benedictine monks in 1942.

[3] Pure maple syrup contains 66.7% sucrose (sugar); fresh sap only has about 2%.

[4] We use the "Rule of 86" to estimate how much sap is required to make syrup. (Gallons of sap per gallon of syrup = 86/[sap sugar concentration].)

[5] Maple makers put syrup in everything.

[6] Read the ingredients and you’ll find no maple sap—just high fructose corn syrup and caramel coloring!

[Spinaker]

Love it! Thanks for sharing!

[Spinaker]

I shared this with the folks at syrup camp. We need to put this on a plaque in our sugar house!

[skipsdaughter]

Spinaker - I have the guitar chords and a recording somewhere -- I'll try to figure out which box they are in and send to you!

[tamidw]

Nice coloring on the syrup. My SIL/BIL brought a ton of little maple leaf bottles of freshly bottled syrup from their family farm as party favors for our wedding reception years ago when we go married.

[Locotech]

Any of you guys make wine?..Buddy of mine makes maple and birch sap wine...excellent. A couple glasses and don't plan on doin much.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

I love real syrup, and that looks absolutely amazing

[Spinaker]

The boil is on again today. Dog days of syrup camp!

[Spinaker]

First batch is almost syrup!