Maple Syrup Totals




If you've never had fresh maple syrup, there is no
 way to describe to you how good it tastes!


      I had people interested in our totals for maple syrup, especially with the weird season.  Total for this year, 3 gallons of syrup.  Two gallons of which, were given to family and neighbors.  Thank goodness we had 10 gallons last year and still had leftovers.

      From what we have heard, if we had tapped in Feb. we would have gotten some of that early flow and had a better harvest -- but, who knew?  Those who did tap in Feb., (very few) had a pretty good season.  There were sugarbushes (stands of maple trees usually tapped for maple syrup) that the trees never got tapped this year!  They missed the whole season.

     This year has been an eye-opener to making sure you have enough syrup stored for two years worth.  When you have a good season  -- put it up!  You never know what will happen next year.

.....dr momi   

Linked To: Homestead Barn Hop # 54

Pulling The Maple Sap Taps

My grandson Logan helped
 Grandpa take down the taps today.



There was no looking up he....was concentrating on not tripping!
Short sleeves and shorts -- it tells you
WHY we are pulling the taps.



Of course little sister Zoe had to get in on the act.



I wonder if Logan will inherit his
Great-Great Grandfather's maple taps? 

.....Grandma Jean

Canning Maple Syrup

     I knew people did it, but; I wasn't sure it was safe.  So, it was a question I asked twice at my Master Food Preserver class.

     Me...."so you can can the maple syrup just by putting hot maple syrup into the (hot) canning jar, and putting the lid on?"

     Barbara Ingham (head food scientist for the state of Wisconsin)...."yes"

     Me...."so, you can take the maple syrup out of it's pan, fill a canning jar, put the lid on it, it seals, and then you can put it on the shelf?"

     Barbara Ingham...."yes"

     Think of the freezer space freed up!  That's how we do it now.  Just like a bazillion other people in Northeast Wisconsin. :-)  I guess after it has cooked for so long, it is considered safe.  I don't understand how with it being an alkaline food it can be canned this way, but evidently, no one has ever died from canned maple syrup.  Using it to sweeten your canned goods though, is not wise.  Again, because of it's alkaline nature, it changes the pH of the jar you are canning -- that can be dangerous.

     So, sterilize your jars, keep them hot, fill with hot maple syrup to 1/4 inch, put on a warmed up lid, screw the band on to finger-tip tight, and sit back and listen to them seal!

Do not look at the headspace on these jars! :-)

.....jean

Linked To: Homestead Barn Hop # 53

Finishing Up That Maple Wine

     Got my One Step out and sanitized my secondary fermentor (a gallon jug), my siphon, and the airlock.



Once the siphon gets going, it does it all by itself.





I always make sure to label it with
 the kind of wine and date started.
This has the stopper in with a hole in it
for the airlock.

 



The airlock lets the wine "bubble", but keeps
out stray yeast.  Here the airlock gets filled with water.
 Now, let it "do it's thing".  No worry about popping the stopper.



      The calendar has been marked "rack the maple wine" for 3 weeks down the road, and the maple wine has joined the elderberry wine on the top of the basement steps.  A place that is not too hot and not too cold.  ......and we wait.

.....dr momi

Maple Sap Wine

     Twenty-six quarts of maple syrup and Rick ran out of firewood.  It's all we need. (For friends, family, and ourselves.)  As he pulled the taps Tue., he collected 12 gallons of sap for me.  I want to try Maple Sap Wine.  I've never made it before.

12 gallons of maple sap cooked down to 1 gallon.  (What a mess in the house -- more wood next year!)
1 lemon sliced thin
1 campden tablet (I decided to use it this time, because they say this wine is better after 1 yr. -- it will help preserve it)
1 package of wine yeast

Put cooked down sap into primary fermentor.
(That has been rinsed with "One Step")
Add the sliced lemon and campden tablet.



Only "I" would pull out a fillet knife (for fish) to cut the lemon because
it's the sharpest knife in the house!
























It's a big bucket for 1 gallon of wine ( 5 bottles) :-)



















Cover with your plastic bag and rubber band string.
Let everything sit overnight.




























The next day, stir in the yeast.




This is the yeast the "wine shop guy" said to use for country wines.
I use his expertise.
















Stir daily for 5 -6 days.  Use a dishwasher sterilized wooden spoon.
(Your house now smells like a brewery :-)
Pull out the bag of fruit, and squeeze every bit of juice out.  Siphon into your secondary
fermentor - a gallon jug. (That has been rinsed in "One Step")
Add your airlock. (That has been rinsed in "One Step")

For a dry wine, rack it at 3 weeks, and every 3 months for one year.  Then bottle.

For a sweet wine, rack at 3 weeks.  Add 1/2 cup maple syrup mixed in
one cup of water, and add to the secondary fermentor.  Repeat the process every six
weeks until fermentation does not restart with the addition of maple syrup.  Rack
every 3 months until one year old.  Then bottle.

I usually like a dry wine, but, I think this one might be good sweet.
(I'm thinking maplely...not sure....we'll find out!)

                                                                      .....dr Momi

Maple Nut Cookies

1 1/2 c. WW pastry flour (we use white sometimes too)
1 c. organic rolled oats (not quick)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. rice vinegar
1/2 c. maple syrup
1/2 c. olive oil
1/2 c. toasted chopped pecans
3/4 c. (or less) chocolate chips

Mix everything together.  Drop onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Flatten with a fork. (or if you are Rick -- with your hand) Bake at 325 degrees for 45 min. or whenever they are toasty brown.

These are my husbands favorite.  When he makes them, we fight about whether he put too many chocolate chips in :-)  Make sure to bake them long enough.  They taste best really crispy.  Notice there are no eggs -- this works great for my egg allergic grandson.



The more ragged the edges the better, they get crispy and yummy.
These could have actually been baked a little longer for my liking.
(Those are Rick's thumbprints)
Enjoy!



Maple Syrup Old Fashioneds

We enjoyed these with supper last night.  In our area of Wisconsin, if you order an Old Fashioned, more likely than not, they will assume you want it sweet and made with brandy.  This is the "country" way to make them.

        Start with a rock glass  full of ice.




Fill it 1/2 full of Cherry Bounce.  Add 2 splashes of bitters,
1 Tbl. of maple syrup (fresh is yum), and fill the glass with club
soda.  Stir well.

Enjoy.

So, what you ask, is Cherry Bounce?  Another Northeast Wisconsin yummy.  This recipe is from a Green Bay church cookbook (lol!), circa 1950.

Cherry Bounce

2 fifths brandy
2 c. sugar
2 qts. of fresh tart cherries
    ( Keep the pits in, but prick them for extra flavor.)

Combine all the ingredients in a large jar, and cover tightly.   Let stand for at least 2-3 months.  I keep mine down in the basement.  Strain when you're ready to use it.

This will end up tasting like fresh cherries......  We always start when the cherries are ripe, and let it sit until Thanksgiving --- and then enjoy as a holiday treat.

Of course, when there's still Cherry Bounce left over at this time of year, who can resist one made with fresh maple syrup!

Cooking Sap

    

Had to dig the cooker out to start!

     My house smells like a campfire, the kitchen floor is sticky, and the first qts. of maple syrup are in the jars and canned.  So-o-o worth it :-)  Rick has cooked the sap down outside, to about 2 gallons.  He finishes it on the stove so he can make sure not to burn it.  (You do not want to be here if he burns it....)

He checks the sugar content with a brick's hydrometer to the hot test line.





All this gunk, called sugar sand, gets strained out.



  

Five quarts and one pint so far.
(My middle daughter already stole a quart  :-)

     Now....... potato pancakes & cheddar cheese, maple pecan cookies, buttermilk pancakes, a topping for vanilla ice cream........... the taste of fresh maple syrup really can't be described.



Fresh Maple Syrup Coming Up

     Today my husband tapped about 50 maple trees.  It's cold, cloudy, windy, and snowed this morning. :-(    Next week's forecast is highs in the 40's, and freezing at night.  Perfect for maple syrup season.  The sap should run like crazy.  He will be busy.  (This is something to keep him busy in between fishing perch and turkey season :-)  I will stoke the fire when he is at work, but that's about it :-)



Drilling the holes.  Oh, .....meet my husband Rick.  I'll
get a picture of him looking at the camera sometime
during maple syrup season :-)



Tapping in the spout.

They're dripping!

Color in the drab woods!