Golly Allan, you do a lot of driving...
I hope you enjoy Maine - it's not springtime there yet you know.

Looking forward to your call.





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Last year, Vermont produced just shy of 900,000 gallons of syrup, while New York produced just over 300,000 gallons.
My last year was 3 years ago, and I made just 100 gallons. I was 67, cut all my wood, collected every drop of sap (260 taps on tubing, 120 taps to buckets) and except for the very occasional visit from George Purtil, boil every damn drop of it. I still remember when it was fun, and was on the board of the New England Maple Producers Assoc.
The lightest syrup, is usually thought to be the first sap run, but historically, that usually isn't the case. Color is directly proportional to the sugar content of the sap (Higher sugar= less time 'on the fire'. Sugar is carbon, so the longer it's exposed to the heat the darker it gets) Sometimes, the sugar content of the sap goes up after a few days of running.
If Vermont boiled all the sap they collected, their total syrup production would be much higher, but since they're only down the road from Canada, lots of farms ship sap over the border. 25 years ago they were getting 14-15 cents a gallon. All those Cabot milk tankers heading North weren't carrying milk. My supply house, in new Hampshire, BOILS 120,000 gallons of sap PER DAY. Their major production is not syrup, but maple sugar, which is just syrup, boiled longer.
Anyone in the know will tell you New England Syrup is, far and away, the best of the best. (My very Humble Opinion)

I used to buy syrup from a business down the road called "Esch's Maple Syrup and Septic Service". The syrup was good. Don't know about the other

:rotf::rotf::rotf:

Put me down for one

I have had both Vermont and Maine Maple syrup and they both are excellent. We have some local small syrup operations here in the UP of Michigan that do a great job, maybe not the volume but very good. I guess I have never had Maple syrup that I did not like.

C'mon Al, we know you Vermonters rule the maple wars, but don't discount the Nutmeg State boyzzzz!!! Spent more than a few hours with our "farm family" framing a post & beam sugar house and installing this puppy, the "Vortex" manufactured by Leader. To the uninitiated, it's a cross between a steam locomotive and a nuclear reactor!! Can't wait for next season!!

And you are correct sir, that first run light amber is indeed, nectar of the gods!!

Attachment 61833

My wife will have the griddle hot Monday morning 4/30

William

The truth be known, when at the age of 35-45 I had a small sugar operation in Washington,NH with about 175 taps and a small Leader evaporator. Made a few gallons of syrup ,it is like cutting your own fire wood----you just can not get the sawdust out of your trouser cuffs. The love of doing it kind of stays with you.

I am surprised with the interest this post has gathered .

I am not reserving syrup at the PGCA/Smith tent---I am bring down 24 quarts---when it's ,it's gone. I should be at Deep River early in the day of the 28th.

Sorry
Allan

Folks up here tap birch trees to make syrup. It takes something like 100gal of sap to make a gallon of syrup. It's darker, thinner and not as sugary, I think. Some operations here in Fairbanks do the tube thing and the moose play hell with those setups when they wander through them. The syrup is good but not as good as maple and too expensive for my budget.

My only personal syrup story goes back to the early 70's in Michigan. We tapped a bunch of trees and collected the sap and carried it back to the cooker in a 30gal trash can in the back of a Suburban. Maynard put on the brakes too hard at one traffic light and it tipped over and filled the the whole thing with sap. We sat there at the light with the doors open and sap pouring out all the doors.... and laughing like loons. We cooked all our sap down on large flat pans of some sort on an outdoor brick BBQ. I have a picture somewhere of me collecting sap with a pack basket on my back to put it in.