I was on another non-food forum this morning, and in their off topic board someone mentioned that had had some MP aged in a bourbon barrel. I'm mentioning it just to make sure you know of the option.
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Have you ever tried to make syrup with birch? SpinakerLast edited by Elton's BBQ; April 7, 2023, 03:19 PM.Comment
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This all sounds like a lot of fun. I think I may have to consider this in the future. The investment may be the issue. Not afraid of the of the work. Have to do a bit of research to learn the process but that won't kill me either. I have a camp with a fair amount of acreage and a lot of maples. Maybe next year.Comment
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Smoke n Beers The cost is not bad. You can go as primal as you want. Remember, native Americans did it with clay pots and camp fires! We added the RO this year; our first year we used stock pots and a turkey fryer burner. Add to the process every year. It adds up over time. In no time, you have a pretty solid syrup camp!
And I would be happy to help you get going if you have questions or anything like that. Taps are cheap and bucket are not bad. (About $5 a piece) All you really need for a small batch is 5-10 buckets.
Our evaporator was $400, but that was a second year addition. No need to get crazy on your first year of production.Comment
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Thanks all for the information. I know many of my camp neighbors make syrup, but it was never presented to me the way you all have. Do you have a source of information to learn the process? I was good for the most part, until you mentioned the evaporator. -
I pretty much did research but much I did for BBQ. I found an online group. Facebook has a ton of social groups about making syrup. YouTube you another awesome spot. The University of MN and Vermont have a TON of information as well. Figuring out how to do it is part of the fun. I will make a post about where to find important information when I get the chance. Smoke & Beers
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You need to be looking to the future. I just did a search on available site names and ruttybuck.com is available. If you ever want to have an online presence for your syrup company, or a porn site if the syrup thing doesn’t work out, now is the time for you and your buddies to grab that name.Last edited by Donw; April 7, 2023, 12:46 PM.Comment
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Yesterday was a great day for boiling! Our yield was another 208 Oz or 1.65 gallons of pure Rutty Buck Syrup. I am guessing today will yield even more.
I am loving the color we are getting this year. To me, the darker stuff is richer.
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Here is part of the haul from today. We had to bleed some off because the evaporator pan was too full! Great problem to have! WE still have at least 2 more gallons of syrup still in the evaporator.
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Smoke n Beers We still have feet in some spots. It is melting fast though. It will be in the 70's next week, that should knock it all out. The snow has effected our sap flow quite a bit. When the snow is still a foot deep at the base of the tree, it is tough to get the sap flowing.
That being said, it makes it nice to have the snow on hand for keeping the sap cool once it is harvested.
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We were in Western New York yesterday and had to go to one of my favorite spots, Sprague’s Maple Farm and Restaurant. As you enter the restaurant you walk by their processing room. It was not running yesterday when we were there but I took some photos of their set up.
This place makes 1000’s of gallons of syrup every year.
I didn’t take any pictures of their building this year but here is one from a couple of Falls ago I took.
Their restaurant is beautiful. I really wish we had something like this here in Ohio where I live.
After an incredible breakfast of corned beef hash, over easy eggs, salt risen toast and pancakes with their maple syrup it was time to visit the retail store. I got two half gallons of their pure maple syrup, four jars of their maple sugar, two jars of their maple cream and a bag of their maple kettle corn. The maple kettle corn didn’t make it back to our house in Ohio, it was a 4 hour drive.
Over the course of the next month I’m going to be working on a Maple Sugar BBQ rub and a Maple Syrup BBQ sauce to go on ribs. I’ll also be making another batch of my Maple Bourbon Bacon Onion Jam. I’ll make sure I’ll post my cooks here in the pit.Comment
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Maple sugar in bacon cure is my go to.Comment
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Well folks, that is a wrap on this season. With the temp in the upper 70's this week, the trees are transitioning to budding out and the sap is changing. This means the season is over for us. Time to pull the taps, sanitize the gear and pack it away for the season.
We had a great haul this year. I will say the single biggest improvement was the Reverse Osmosis system. We were able to double our production this year. I do not have a full count on our total production, but I would say we are somewhere in the 12-15 gallons range. I know that does not seem like much, but it is for us.
As the season rolls on, you can clearly see the change in the color of the syrup. Both of these jars were from this year's production run. The one on the left was made this past weekend, while this one on the right was made in late March. Some of this comes from the bacteria count in the sap before it is cooked. The sap itself becomes darker as the season progresses. The darker the syrup, the more intense the flavor is, which we love.
The picture below is the concentrated sap before it begins to boil. Nice and clear. We were able to bury the buckets in snow to keep them cold before boiling.
Here is a shot of the last batch in the evaporator. Here is a shot of the syrup right be for we draw it off for finishing.
Ripley always seemed to find the "sugar rocks" next to the evaporator. These are coated in the foam and sugar sand we skim from the top of the evaporation pan. Man they love that stuff.
That sweet syrup going through the filter into the finishing pot.
I will do a final post to show the full production totals! All in all a great season. Thanks for reading and showing interest in the hobby. I hope I have inspired someone here to give it a try. The reward is well worth all the work!
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There are some, more house than there is syrup! CaptainMike
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We are doing our final distribution and fluid count on the 22nd. We do this every year as an end of the season party. (No kids allowed)
Once we have all of the syrup distributed and counted, then I can work on putting it in slightly smaller bottles. This makes the syrup go further in the form of gifts and what not. It also encourages the end users not to waste it when they are eating pancakes, waffles, etc. Nothing irks me more than watching my friends kid dump 6 ounces of Rutty Buck on a stack of pancakes; only to eat half the pancakes and leave 4 ounces of that liquid gold on the plate.
Anyway, I will post some picture of distribution and the clean up after the season. That will officially bring this whole season to an end.
Again, thank you all for taking the time to read and follow this season. It has been fun to have you all join me, albeit from a digital distance!
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I would like to know more about this sugar sand, and I think it was Sugar rocks you mentioned the dog finding.
I'm guessing sugar sand is kind of like when honey starts to crystallize, and the rocks are. Larger versions or maybe a bunch of it clumped together?
How is that stuff formed, how is it prevented from forming, is there no use for it? Maybe in cream cheese or the like?Comment
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Thanks for this thread Spinaker. You guys have an awesome setup. Could I ask what your reverse osmosis system cost?Comment
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Ours is the RB10 System from RO Bucket. $465.00. Split across the people in camp, the cost is not bad per person. Honestly, knowing what I know now about how much time it saves, I would have bought it myself if others were not down. They have great customer service. It is a good solid product, easy to learn how to use. Ready to go out of the box. Can't really get much easier.
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