North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Jim Fruth" <jfruth@tds.net>]

Michele Stanton asked, "Those of you who have tried it (Maple sugaring) at 
home-- how did you do it?"

   I made my first maple syrup back when I didn't know anything about the 
Maple Syrup Industry.  I didn't know that spiles were made commercially so I 
made my own.  I produced some out of aluminum rod in my lathe and others 
made with wood.  The wooden spiles are more fun and easier to make.  I used 
Elderberry and/or twigs of Black Ash because these have an inner pith that 
can be forced out with a stiff wire so I didn't need to drill a hole.  The 
Industry recommends 7/16" tap holes but, back then, I drilled 1/2".  Your 
home-made spiles should be tapered for easy insertion and a snug fit in the 
tap hole.  Mine were 3' to 4" long with a notch at the end to hold a pail. 
Curiously, spiles are called "spiles" before we pound them into a tree and, 
henceforth they are referred to as "taps."  If you need to drill larger 
holes, consider that the only drill pioneers possessed was the 1-1/2" auger 
that they used for mortising log cabins and alot of those trees are still 
thriving because we can still see the 1-1/2" round scar in the bark.
   My "Pails" were the large cans that vegetables are sold in at the grocer 
with bails made of wire.  I tried 5 quart ice cream buckets but they tended 
to blow away with the wind.
   I had never seen a maple tree much over 6" in diameter so I tapped 
everything that would hold a spile.  For those of you who wonder if trees 
are damaged in this way, the saplings I tapped back then are still thriving.
   I cooked the sap in a backwoods cabin that had no ceiling except for the 
slanted poles that held the roof boards.  Even with all of the windows open, 
water was dripping from everything and everything was wet.  It was a hunting 
cabin and the variety of stoves included a gasoline stove, an electric, a 
wood cookstove and a variety of hotplates.
   My "evaporator" was 18 kettles and I used what I later learned is called 
"The Multiple Kettle Method."  Lots of folks cook syrup in a big kettle, 
cooking it all day, maybe into the night, adding sap as the level recedes. 
The result is a sweet, black, fluid mass; well, some prefer it that way. 
When you use the Multiple Kettle Method, you put a half inch of sap into 
each kettle and have all burners turned on high because you want it to boil 
as fast as possible.  As the sap boils away, you pour the remaining sap 
always in the same (as possible) direction so you always add fresh sap to 
the same pots and always finish syrup in the same kettle(s).  With this 
method, your end product will be a yellow to brown, translucent, syrup that 
will tantalize your taste buds.
   But. when is the syrup finished?  My first attempt was embarrassing, 
most of it molded and I didn't know that all I needed to do was skim off the 
mold, re-boil and re-bottle.  Before my second year I learned that syrup is 
finished when it is boiled to seven degrees above the boiling temperature of 
water.  Before long I learned that the school books were wrong and that 
water only boils at 212 degrees F at sea level with 30" of Mercury 
(barometric pressure).  At my altitude, water boils at + or - of  210 and I 
had to recalibrate every day and sometimes several times in the same day.
   How long will it keep?  I tell people that it'll keep for a hundred, or 
more, years so long it was bottled in a sterile manner and stored at a 
constant temperature.  It is when it undergoes changes of temperature  that 
a bit of water evaporates out of the syrup and condenses on the cap.  When 
the condensate drips, it changes the density at the top of the syrup and, if 
there is still a live mold spore, yeast or bacterium in the air space, it 
will grow and you need to skim, re-boil and re-bottle.

Jim Fruth
Brambleberry Farm
Pequot Lakes, MN  56472
For jams, jellies, syrups and more:
www.jellygal.com
1-877-265-6856 (Toll Free)
1-218-831-7018 (My Cell)