As you probably know, maple sap is mostly water. So to get syrup, you boil off all that water. In the meantime, all that heat from boiling and all that water make the home a moist warm environment.
We enjoy it, and as the sap concentrates, there is a faint odor of maple syrup in the air. The photo shows how our kitchen windows steam up during the process.
You do not want to make maple syrup in a kitchen that is wallpapered. I’ve heard of people whose wallpaper neatly unpasted itself and fell to the floor in rolls.
Sapping and boiling are activities that indicate the change of season. When the sap runs, you boil. It’s a pleasant enough exercise but be warned that hauling buckets of sap in the snow can be awkward. When the sap runs, you boil, which can mean late nights as you finish a batch.
But the results are sweet.
It is amazing that you boil your own syrup. How big are your batches? There is this retired Physics prof at my church who installs a hose system along the trees on his street and backyard, to a fully automated system (hehe, the scientist) and with all that tech he is able to process about 1000 gallons of sap, for about 25 gallons of syrup (the neighbours and parishioners get some).
Our “Sugar Bush” is small, but gets lots of sun. So, the sap is sweet, but we only get about three to four gallons – just enough for family needs. The symbolic significance out weighs other considerations. It’s mental health effects for me, and the pleasure we get from using our own, and not having to buy.
It’s also fun to do.
Yes, it is food for the soul, too.
I remember your syrup post from last year like it was just yesterday it’s hard to believe that a year has already gone by.
It’s one of those pleasant things that repeat over the years. In this case a harbinger for spring.