It’s that time of the year again. When temperatures start reaching above 40 degrees during the day, but going back down below freezing at night, you know it’s Maple tapping season. We put the taps in this week and so begins our second year of tapping.
Last year we tapped the two huge maple trees in our backyard on a whim. I came across the post on Simple Bites where Aimee and Danny tap their trees with their kids and I was struck by how simple the process was. Put taps in the trees, collect sap, boil. Simple as that, though our process could definitely use some refinement. After only tapping for one year, we are hardly experts, but we did make enough maple syrup last year to get us through most of the winter (we just finished our last jar, but had to ration it towards the end) and are trying out a new boiling method this year. You don’t need any fancy gear, as last year proved. We boiled our sap in a large stock pot over a fire. It took many, many hours to do it this way, but it still worked. This year, we decided to take it up a notch because thats what we do! I plan on doing a post around our process this year, once we’ve got at least one boiling session under out belt so I can report on how our new set up is working out. But in the meantime, I reached out to a family friend who has been tapping the trees around her house for years to share some tips and insights into their process. (more…)