Vermont Maple syrup

[todd allen]

Originally Posted by Allan H. Swanson

The maple syrup season in Vermont was short and sweet.

My neighbors, Dana Brothers, produced slightly over 500 gals. of syrup and burned over 35 cord of fire wood---the old fashion way.

I will be bring 2 cases of first run fancy grade to the PGCA tent on Saturday the 28th for sale @ $20.00 per quart container. The proceeds go to the PGCA coffers check book.

Thanks for supporting the PGCA.
Allan H. Swanson

PS It is not a side by side, I am sure John Dunkle will approve

Allan, can you ship a quart of syrup? If so, put me down for a quart. Let me know what I need to do.

Edit: make it 2 quarts.

[edgarspencer]

Gary, you're text book spot on. I do remember a lot of what you say, 30 years ago. It is relevant in understanding how the sugar content if determined, but in the end, as far as the guy collecting and boiling (Jeez, how I hate this expression) "It is what it is" I used to wander the sugar bush with some whizbang thingy that told me what the sugar content of the sap was, but (here's another one I hate) "At the end of the day" What ever came out of the tree, gets dumped in the collection tank.
The advent of Reverse Osmosis equipment largely altered the final product, insofar as necessary boiling time. It requires an external piece of equipment that extracts the pure water, leaving behind a more highly concentrated sap (usually from +/-2% starting content, up to +/-10%) Since this sap is now more sugar (10% sugar, 90%water) and the evaporation rate of the equipment remains the same, that sugar will be in the pans for less time, than the same sugar that went in with 97-98% water.
The actual color of the syrup, and the perceived "maple flavor" are directly related, and Tom was 'kinda' right about caramelizing, but circulation in the pan isn't why. A well designed evaporator has a serpentine path, baffles, that the sap follows, as it increases in density. The inlet being the beginning, the draw-off valve, being the end. It's syrup when it floats the hygrometer, but that coincides with a specific temperature (219F at sea level, when the barometer is 30"/Hg.
So, here's the bottom line: Pay up! Because the guy doing the boiling didn't just wake up and say "I'm gonna make great syrup today"