Making Sirrup in the South

Howdy, and a pleasant late winter to you.

For two or three years now I have said each spring that I wanted to tap maple trees and make my own sirrup. I was inspired after reading that, yes, even in the South this is possible. And every year I neglected to buy the spouts and try my hand at sirrup-making. Too busy, I was. This year I decided that, busy or not, I was going to make sirrup, or something. So I ordered 10 stainless steel Grimm maple spouts, bought a sharp 7/16" drill bit, collected empty gallon jugs, and went to work.

The tools of the trade

I read that the tap hole would be about 2" deep into the sapwood for optimal collection, so I marked the bit at that depth and bored a hole on the southern exposure of the big Sugar Maple.

The I used a 10oz hammer and carefully drove the first spout (also called a ‘spile’) into the tree. Sap commenced to flowing. Success!

It warmed up nicely today today, and the sap was really flowing. I timed several taps at over a drop-per-second. The empty

plastic jugs began filling up quickly. I emptied about 2 gallons out of the ten jugs about 2pm, and by 5pm they were ready to be emptied again.

The I set about reducing the sap down on the kitchen stovetop. It took 2 hours to reduce the sap from 2 gallons to about a half-gallon.

A half-hour later and it was time for a smaller pot.

I tried a batch yesterday evening, and at this point in the process I messed up. It becomes so concentrated, that after transitioning to a smaller pot for the final reduction the sirrup must be watched constantly. I left it a little too long yesterday (my first ever batch), and this was the result.

The fire was too hot too long and the sugar began caramelizing. So it tastes fine, if a little strong, and has the aroma of caramel. At least it wasn’t ruined, thank the Lord, after all that effort! Today, having learned my lesson,  the pot didn’t leave my sight till the process was finished. The sirrup is supposed to be finished when the boiling point is 7.1F above whatever temperature plain water boils at at your altitude. Here, according to my borrowed candy thermometer, the boiling point of water was 206F, so my sirrup should be done at 213F. I let it go till about 214F, because I would rather have it be too sugary than too watery. Kara held the funnel and improvised filter, and we filled the jar. Note that this is a half-pint jar, and the liquid in it began as two gallons of sap!

I am pleased  with the appearance of this batch over the last. I hope the flavor is “maple-y” enough, as it is so light in color. The sugar content seems perfect. Kara suggested having pancakes for supper tonight, and trying the fruit of our labors. I am excited! Thanks to the Lord for being able to enjoy this gift of his Creation at our southern latitude. Maybe this will inspire some of you to try the same. 

Ryan