Homemade maple syrup is one of my favorite things in my kitchen. Since I love it so much I use it in a lot of different things when I am cooking. For that reason, I wanted to make sure that the maple syrup I am using is natural without added sugar. To make sure I get the best quality I started making it myself. So keep reading to find out how to turn sap into maple syrup.
As I said I love using maple syrup in so many different things in my kitchen. My absolute favorite is as a coffee sweetener. I love to make my lattes with maple syrup in them. I can taste the difference between my homemade syrup and store-bought. Even if the store-bought is organic. Homemade maple syrup is so much richer and fresh.
Sap
One thing you will notice when you make your syrup is that throughout the tapping season, you will see a change of color in your maple syrup. The later the season the darker the syrup, there is no quality or sugar difference from the lighter syrup. This is caused by older sap. Darker Syrup will have a more robust maple flavor to it.
Now let’s get into it. You have tapped your trees and you are now receiving sap daily. Depending on the number of trees you tap depends on how much sap you will get. As I have stated before the older the sap the darker the color. So with that being said the longer you let your sap sit before you boil it the darker it will be. There is a fine line though if you wait too long your sap will get cloudy and that means that it has spoiled. Also, with the darker color comes the rich maple flavor. The dark syrup is a personal favorite of mine but I know that some people do not like it so it is something to note if you are going to be making your own.
Boiling
Boiling is the longest part of this process. This is the part where you may want to filter your sap before boiling it. I don’t as I collect with covered buckets and it sits in a covered container so there isn’t anything to filter out at this point. However, if you leave your sap uncovered you will want to filter it before boiling to get any insects, sticks, or whatever else ended up in your sap out. There are so many variables that depict how long you will be boiling. For example, if you are boiling outside you may lose a lot of heat so it will take longer.
The way I would recommend is to boil in a well-ventilated shed. You want a lot of surface area to boil on as well so a flatter pan or one made specifically for maple syrup. The more surface area the faster it will boil down. Lastly, I would recommend boiling over a wood stove as you can get them very hot and it is cheap to operate. My set up does not look like this right now as we are still establishing ourselves at the house that we built, so let me tell you how I am doing it as it does a pretty good job. Right now I am using cinder blocks stacked 3 high on each side for every banquet pan that I have. I have up to 4 Banquet pans but depending on how much sap I have depends on how many I use. This first boil I didn’t have too much sap so I just used 2 banquet pans.
Finish
Once you have it boiled down to a nice brown color you will either move it to a different pan or finish the boil there. I usually move it inside at this point as you will want to keep a closer eye on it. You have been boiling all day and now it will be a matter of minutes before it will be done so you will have to watch it more. Put your fan on above your stove if you bring it inside as you are still creating a lot of humidity. You will also start checking with your hydrometer at this point. When testing fills the metal cup with your hot syrup then put it in the hydrometer. Once you see the hotline right at the edge of the syrup your homemade maple syrup is done.
One last step before you are completely done. You will need to filter your sap through a cheesecloth. Especially if you are boiling outside some of the ash will get into your sap. Cheesecloth is great for getting all that out of your sap. You may see a little residue at the bottom of your bottle once you let it sit for a while and if you would like you can put it through cheesecloth twice and it will reduce this or if you like the smokier flavor once is sufficient. Now you are ready to bottle or can your syrup.
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