sugaring time

[sculptor]

I tapped most of the maple trees
2 pots of sap boiling on the stove
it is muddy slippery here.

 

[wegs]

That sounds like fun. Doesn’t it take like a ton (not literally) of sap to make a small batch of syrup?

 

[sculptor]

With red maples the ratio of sap to syrup is roughly 40:1
boil down/reduce 40 quarts of sap for 1 quart of syrup
or
heat it a little longer to turn the syrup into sugar---
That's tricky and requires constant attention
as the crystals begin to form---reduce heat and scrape the crystals from the sides of the pot until most of what is left is sugar
pour it out into a manageable thickness cool and enjoy
(it makes a great candy)

but
it's a lot of work