Wow, it has been a while since I posted and lots has happened. Its spring!! This spring has been my first try at maple syrup. With the purchase of the lot behind our house came a few maple trees. Off to Home Hardware to stock up on spiles and buckets and to see what other goodies there are and flip through a few books. I have seen how it is done and a couple of phone calls to my buddy who is a pro, I got set up and running!
I ended up with twelve taps going. This year I did not get a proper wood stove and pan. Next year I will be ready with a shed,woodstove and pan. I see there is enough trees to get twelve more taps going for a total of twenty four. For now I am using a propane Burner. I got the burner and pot as part of a hot oil turkey cooker. It worked awesome, clean and consistent. I do a finish boil, filter and bottle inside the garage usually late at night after a days boil. So far we have just over 2 gallons or twenty four 500ml jars. When the G8 summit is on I will put a “syrup for sale” sign up on the front yard