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A Farm of My Own:  Making Maple Syrup  |
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country lawyer
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
1022 Posts |
 Posted - Feb 12 2008 : 09:34:47 AM
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| Are there any Farmgirls who have a maple syrup farm, or work on one, or tap their own trees, or have ever had anything at all to do with maple syrup? (Other than eating it, that is! I've got that base covered already!) |
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lovelady
True Blue Farmgirl
533 Posts
Toni
Indiana
USA
533 Posts |
Posted - Feb 12 2008 : 10:16:06 AM
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| I don't personally, but my best friend's family in southern Indiana makes a lot of maple syrup. They have a lot of fun doing it and even have groups come through and visit during sugaring. There were also a lot of people in my former home of Parke County, Indiana that had "sugar camps". There was an article about them in the last issue of Midwest Living. |
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willowtreecreek
True Blue Farmgirl
4813 Posts
Julie
Russell
AR
USA
4813 Posts |
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windypines
True Blue Farmgirl
4186 Posts
Michele
Bruce
Wisconsin
USA
4186 Posts |
Posted - Feb 13 2008 : 11:58:00 AM
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We make our own maple syrup every spring. good stuff. Our set is nothing fancy, but gets the job done. We have 30 taps, and we get enough syrup for us and my parents. Maybe 10 gallons a year.
Michele |
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willowtreecreek
True Blue Farmgirl
4813 Posts
Julie
Russell
AR
USA
4813 Posts |
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country lawyer
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
1022 Posts |
Posted - Feb 14 2008 : 03:13:55 AM
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Thank you guys so much for the replies.
So, if there was a certain lawyer (a-hem....), who has always dreamed of living in Vermont and making Maple Syrup (a-hem...), but has never done anything other than eat it, well, lots of it actually. Where would she start? Is it like making wine? Where it takes years and years to get it right? Or, is it more like making biscuits...either a good recipe or a good teacher is enough?
I (I mean this "certain lawyer")ordered a very basic book from amazon, but I haven't gotten it yet. Any other thoughts?
Any input from you pros?? |
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windypines
True Blue Farmgirl
4186 Posts
Michele
Bruce
Wisconsin
USA
4186 Posts |
Posted - Feb 14 2008 : 04:09:32 AM
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If that certain lawyer wanted to make maple syrup, I think that certain lawyer sure could do it. Sure if you have someone to teach ya, or so you could just watch that would help. First off you gotta make sure you tap maple's !!! A tree that you thought was a maple, just doesn't produce sap! Been down that road once or twice! Then once you get enough sap to cook down, the biggest thing is keeping that fire hot, and don't burn it. Cause towards the end of the cooking time, it cooks down faster, and if you are not watching it, it will burn. Flames in the pan. Not trying to scare you off, but just letting you know it happens. The one fancy thing we do have now is a hydromameter.(sp?) It is like a thermometer, that floats at a certain line when the syrup is done. That makes it easy to tell when it is done, but you don't have to have one. We made syrup many years without one. We use milk strainer pads to strain the syrup. Like I said our set up is nothing fancy, an open pan over a steel stove type deal my husband made. Our pan is also just steel, with lovely rebar handles! Homemade too. We stuff the wood in a open end, under the pan, and watch it boil! Also our syrup is darker, certainly not grade A, but it has lots more flavor!
So if that lawyer, wants to give this a try, go for it. Have fun and enjoy!
Michele |
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willowtreecreek
True Blue Farmgirl
4813 Posts
Julie
Russell
AR
USA
4813 Posts |
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country lawyer
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
1022 Posts |
Posted - Feb 14 2008 : 08:57:31 AM
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| Heading over to your blog~! |
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country lawyer
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
1022 Posts |
Posted - Feb 14 2008 : 09:06:56 AM
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That is an AWESOME post!!!
Just perfect. Informative, entertaining, homey. Oh, I just wanted to be there with you.
Thank you for feeding my dream and my spirit! |
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willowtreecreek
True Blue Farmgirl
4813 Posts
Julie
Russell
AR
USA
4813 Posts |
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A Farm of My Own: Making Maple Syrup |
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Making Maple Syrup
