Off Topic, maples are running
03-22-2010, 02:55 PM
#13
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 2,037
Wood is cheaper!!! We cook it right in the woods and there are a lot of dead elm trees. We do the finishing off on the stove so we can be careful not too go to far with it. We have two primary cookers going today, the season will be over soon.
Art
Art
03-22-2010, 04:51 PM
#14
Fork Horn
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 491
I have never heard of anybody in NC tapping a sugar maple. We have plenty of them around but maybe our sap does'nt flow like yours since its much warmer here. I sho do love maple syrup tho, and you know us mk85 lovers look out for each other..just kidding, heck of a setup you got there. We do have a fellow in VA that has a cabin near ours that gets some awesome honey from his beehives tho.
03-22-2010, 05:05 PM
#15
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Northern Chautauqua Co. N.Y.
Posts: 2,976
No sugar maples down this way. (The closest thing we have to "running sap" is me walking back and forth between the shooting bench and target frame.) But spring is crawfish season and we look forward to that in the same way you guys await maple syrup.Hey Flounder, I can tell by the knees of your jeans that you are NOT the dominant member of that team.
Ron
03-22-2010, 05:22 PM
#16
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 21,193
In our spring, of course there is still frost. The trees over the winter also technically thaw out. What happens is in the evening the night temps get below zero and it drives the sap down the trunk of the trees into the root system, for the protection of the tree. In the morning the sun comes up and starts to warm the tree. The temps get above freezing and as the tree heats up, the sap starts back up the trunk of the tree. Your tap of course captures that sap as it moves up and down the trunk of the tree.
Once the night time temps stay too high, and the sap does not need to flow back down, then maple season is pretty much over. In the southern states where it is warm all the time, the sap is in the tree all the time. But on prime days during season, I've seem a big coffee can get filled pretty fast. It is not uncommon to empty in afternoon and the cans are about to over flow.
We then take the sap to the house. Run it through filters and strainers to get the bugs, bark, dust, etc out of it. Then pour it into containers and let it settle for a while.
We use wood because it is every where and free. You can use gas, electric, anything you like. You cook it very slow and stir the sap constantly. This boils the water out of the sap. And as the sap is reduced down, it starts to turn.
I have one friend that finishes his sap with a double boiler system, because at the end it is very important you do not over cook and or burn the sap. All of this affects the flavors and if you cook it too much you get maple crystals. They are pretty good actually.
Its a lot of work. Probably why I don't do it anymore. Actually the guy I used to do it with had a stroke and he can't and I just don't do it because friends always have some for me now.
Once the night time temps stay too high, and the sap does not need to flow back down, then maple season is pretty much over. In the southern states where it is warm all the time, the sap is in the tree all the time. But on prime days during season, I've seem a big coffee can get filled pretty fast. It is not uncommon to empty in afternoon and the cans are about to over flow.
We then take the sap to the house. Run it through filters and strainers to get the bugs, bark, dust, etc out of it. Then pour it into containers and let it settle for a while.
We use wood because it is every where and free. You can use gas, electric, anything you like. You cook it very slow and stir the sap constantly. This boils the water out of the sap. And as the sap is reduced down, it starts to turn.
I have one friend that finishes his sap with a double boiler system, because at the end it is very important you do not over cook and or burn the sap. All of this affects the flavors and if you cook it too much you get maple crystals. They are pretty good actually.
Its a lot of work. Probably why I don't do it anymore. Actually the guy I used to do it with had a stroke and he can't and I just don't do it because friends always have some for me now.
03-22-2010, 05:37 PM
#17
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: River Ridge, LA (Suburb of New Orleans)
Posts: 10,917
Aw Breechplug, comparing crab legs to crawfish is like comparing hamburger to T-Bone. Both are good.....BUT...
Actually, lobster would be a better comparison as far as texture, but the flavor is different. Crawfish aren't as mild as either crab or lobster.
We boil our mudbugs in highly seasoned water, typically with all or most of the following: salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, mustard seed, coriander seed, dill seed, allspice, bay leaves, fresh quartered onions, fresh quartered lemons, and crushed garlic cloves. The flavor is "robust". Most folks throw some new potatoes, corn on the cob, sausage links, and whole mushrooms into the pot with the crawfish about halfway through the boil. Everything is dipped out and drained, then piled on large trays in the middle of the table. Help yourself - the mudbugs are hot and the beer is cold! (Be sure to suck the heads.)
Actually, lobster would be a better comparison as far as texture, but the flavor is different. Crawfish aren't as mild as either crab or lobster.
We boil our mudbugs in highly seasoned water, typically with all or most of the following: salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, mustard seed, coriander seed, dill seed, allspice, bay leaves, fresh quartered onions, fresh quartered lemons, and crushed garlic cloves. The flavor is "robust". Most folks throw some new potatoes, corn on the cob, sausage links, and whole mushrooms into the pot with the crawfish about halfway through the boil. Everything is dipped out and drained, then piled on large trays in the middle of the table. Help yourself - the mudbugs are hot and the beer is cold! (Be sure to suck the heads.)
03-23-2010, 09:26 AM
#20
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 2,037
On a small scale all you need is something like a turkey fryer. It is just a process of evaporating most of the water out and then you end up with the maple syrup. We use a candy thermometer in the final stages so we don't go too far with it. I am sure there is a lot of info on the internet. I think the sap would be getting too buddy by now in Missouri.
Art
Art