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First Syrup Made

by Peter 3/31/2014 5:56:00 AM

We made our first syrup of the season yesterday.  Our first boil was on Thursday, March 27th.  We didn't get any finished syrup during the first boil because it takes quite a bit of sap to establish the concentration gradient in the pan.  We collected about 1100 gallons of sap on Friday and Saturday, allowing us to boil on Sunday afternoon.  After about an hour of boiling we had our first draw off.  It was a huge draw off of nearly 20 gallons of delicious dark amber syrup.  We finished the day with 44 gallons of syrup.  We bottled up most of the syrup into a variety of different size containers. 

It is impossible to predict how good the season is going to be.  There are so many variables: the duration of the freeze/thaw cycle, the soil moisture level, precipitation during the season, and frost in the ground.  The initial sap flows have been encouraging and the 10 day weather forecast is promising.  We are crossing our fingers for a successful season!