Maple Syrup - Season Finale

2018 has been a stellar year for maple syrup production in New Hampshire. We tapped our trees early in February, and the season lasted through all of March. Mother Nature gave us the perfect sapping weather and we took full advantage of it!

Some of us find it hard to wait for finished syrup...

Grand Totals for 2018

We finished up our season with a total of 22 gallons of finished syrup! This number is huge for us. For comparison, last year we produced a total of 4 gallons. This year's production is our largest ever.

We collected 776 gallons of sap with our 39 taps. An average ratio of sap to finished syrup is 40:1. However, we were able to produce 1 gallon of syrup per 35 gallons of sap. This indicates that our sap has a higher sugar content than average.

We boiled 12 separate batches of syrup and several of these boiling sessions took multiple days to finish. Admittedly, we were tired of boiling sap by the end of the season. Boiling sap is time consuming and can be physically demanding.

To produce all of this finished syrup, we used over 2 cords of firewood, plus scrap wood. This was the first year we were able to use dried cord wood in our evaporator. Normally, we forage for dead wood around the property. We haul that wood, split it, and then burn it. This adds a huge physical burden to the boiling task and makes it hard to have long, multiple-day boils.  This year, my brother-in-law donated 2+ cords of firewood to our cause. It was so convenient to have dried cord wood ready to use in the evaporator. Going forward, we will make a bigger effort to have dried wood cut, stacked and ready for syrup season.

The Great Clean Up

Without doubt, the worst part of syrup season is the cleanup. By the end of the season, we are tired and lacking motivation to put away all of the equipment. This year, April has continued to be cold and dreary. We spent a cold, drizzly day cleaning up. This involves taking down each bucket, cleaning them, and stacking them in our garage storage space. We boil the spiels to disinfect them before storage. Next, we wash each of our 4 collection barrels. Lastly, we have to wash and clean out the evaporator. This involves descaling the pan, taking out the fire bricks, disassembling the stack, and storing all of this until next spring.

Matt improvised a bucket rack for easier cleaning.

We literally spent an entire day doing these chores. It's tiring work. We all agree that a sugar shack would be a wonderful addition to our property in order to minimize some of this work. Pipe dreams!