SAP on the Brain
Well, as I type this post I can just see the steam rolling off the evaporator, the smell of sweet maple sap boiling away. Doing maple syrup is my favorite job. It is such a wonderful process and my favorite time of the year! Tonite I'm thinking about what we'll need to get for the upcoming season. Its about time to start dragging out the equiptment and make needed repairs, the ones that should have been made before it was put away. At the end of sap season I'm always so tired and wore out that I'm lucky to get the stuff put away! I skipped the last 2 seasons because of help shortages and babies being born. But this year we're going at it full STEAM ahead (pun intended). I can't wait to start collecting sap in the dark, tripping over tree limbs, freezing to death, and all the joys that come with working into the wee hours of the morning. It will be such fun to run the chain saw in the dark, holding the flashlight in my mouth as I try to cut more wood for the hungry evaporator. And OHHH, the first batch to come off....nothing sweeter. Filtering, bottling, and cleaning up the pan.......I'm nothing but smiles just imagining the hole ordeal. As you may have guessed.......I love maple syrup. Later this week I will be placing my Leader order. When the boxes get here I'll be in Maple Heaven. Waiting for those chilly nites and 45 degree days. Be sure to stop by for a visit, and don't forget the beer.
posted by Scott M Terry @ 6:37 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Traditionally, when we boil sap we make hard boiled eggs at the same time. Throw'em in the snowbank when they're done and watch for the hungry dogs. Next, shuck the incredible edible and bite approx 25% of the top off. This makes a perfect place for the syrup reside.
But if you're up to it, I'd like to try something different. What happens if you fill the evaporator with beer? Just a thought. Imagine the ambiance of it all.
You know what I like? Drinking the sap when its about half done. Thick and sweet. I always would dip out a tin cup full and let it cool, then bottoms up.
don't forget after the trees are tapped, the excruciating torture of sticking one's tongue to the spigot, waiting for the sweet, slow drip drip drip of the tree's lifeblood. (probably the most patience i ever exhibited as an impatient child occurred with my neck craned toward a spigot.)
Curtis used to drink it right out of the bucket. Chug, Chug, Chug.
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