[LMB] Maple Syrup

[anmar mirza]

On 4/30/07, Larry Stewart <l.bujold at stewart.org> wrote:
>
> Here in the northeast US, you can get 48 oz of grade A maple syrup at
> BJ's wholesale club for $14.
> Used to be less, but that is $5/pint, and will go a long way, except for
> the 7 year old boy who
> likes to dip his pancakes in a lake.


Before I started making maple syrup I wondered why it was so expensive.
Once
I started making it I realized why:  it takes a huge amount of energy to
boil off
the extra water.  I figure I burned about a cord of firewood to make the
nine
or so gallons of syrup we made this year.  That isn't even counting the
labor involved.

As our production has evolved we're becoming more energy efficient. This
year I
added heat recovery into the flue stack.  Next year we're going to
experiment with
a solar/vaccuum evaporator.  The biggest labor saving this year was going
from spiles
with buckets to a tap and tube system.

I'll echo another poster, go with darker grades of syrup, they have much
more flavor.
The closer to get to amber the less maple flavor you get.  If you want to be
cheap,
take a very dark grade and mix it with a neutral flavor syrup.



-- 
> Anmar Mirza EMT, N9ISY, Central Region NCRC Coordinator, Owner Lost Creek
> Packs, Recently Homeless (see blog.myspace.com/anmarmirza)