Tag Archives: how to make maple syrup

Sticky Situation

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We did it! We did it! We did it! Hooray! Now that I have Dora the Explorer’s theme song running through my head and yours, let me give you a little update on what exactly we did. If you’ve been following along, you’ll know that we have tapped a few of our maple trees to make maple syrup this spring. Well, our minimal research and best laid, however naive, plans, made me host a “boiling party” this past Sunday. I invited a few friends over to sit by the fire with us and see how the day went. I thought it would be relaxed and fun. Roast a few hot dogs, maybe, get at least half of our sap boiled up, and perhaps bottle a bit.

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As life would have it, our plans don’t always work out as we expect. First, our sap is frozen. Stored in the freezer to keep it fresh. That’s fine… but after an overnight thaw, we still had big chunks of ice. No worries, right? Gonna boil it down anyway. Big chunks of ice don’t fit in my shallow pans. Then it rained the night before. Which means our wood and fire spot was fairly damp. We did save some fuel indoors (because we did check the weather!) but the hubby still had a hard time getting the fire going. And he usually has no trouble starting fires. Wink Wink.

Now remember, we’ve never done this before. We have no idea what we are doing. Yet, we march forward… fire going. Pans boiling. Sap levels start going down. Things appear to be working. Let’s put another pan out and try the bar-b-que. Yeah, that will work. We won’t mention the propane bill. I have fed my guests hamburgers. They are gracious, long time friends whom we love. They don jackets and “check on the fire” and encourage the hubby. We drink coffee and complain about the cold.

Hours have past. So, let’s get to the crux of this story. We have “thickened” sap. Our research tells us we can “finish off” our syrup inside on the stove. Everyone tells you not to do the maple syrup inside because it makes everything sticky, but this “finishing off” part needs to be monitored. The temperature checks and precision is needed to get the sap to the syrup stage… so it is okay to do this part inside on the stove. Okay. Stock pot locked and loaded. Two inches of sap from an entire 12 litre bucket. Candy thermometer marked at 219 degrees F. And then we got distracted. Chit chatting outside. Thinking the other was watching the pot boil. Disaster. Our syrup was burnt sugar.

Disaster

Okay, okay. Let’s fix it. I break out the candy molds. Maple sugar candy… that’s a thing, right? The family says add water… we boiled again. Yes! Syrup! Bottle it in our cute maple syrup bottles… wait. What are the floatie things? Eww. Is it supposed to look like that? Google. Apparently, one must filter the sugar sand or niter that remains in sap-syrup. Coffee filters don’t work. I spilled some. The syrup is now thick and sticky…. and drips and drops are everywhere! On my elbows, on my counter, on the stove, in the sink, in pots, pans and bottles. Sticky rolled up coffee filters with sandy grit are piled and discarded. Spoons and taste testers are left on sticky counters. Our friends have abandoned us. This is why they tell you don’t do maple syrup inside. It becomes a sticky situation!!

After 6 or so hours and all that… we have two 250ml bottles of thick, clear, sweet maple syrup to enjoy! (And 9 or so more buckets in the freezer to do it all over again with!) Seriously though, we had fun. We learned through trial and error. We laughed, we panicked, we yelled a little, but in the end: We did it!

We did it!

And so we come to the life lesson of boiling day. So often, we get ourselves in sticky situations, don’t we? We plan an Instagram worthy party with good friends. We think it is all going to be fluffy and romantic. We underestimate the time needed to invest. We think we will get so much more accomplished than we do. We try. We learn through trial and error and mistakes — and Google? We yell a little. Things get burnt. We waste precious resources and get distracted when we should be focused. We end up with big messes that need to get filtered through the One who is in control of it all.

Psalm 40 shows us how to get out of that sticky situation and stand again on solid ground. The stability (with all the sweet benefits) of being in the hands of the one who has laid out “good plans” for us. God no longer wants our burnt offerings, as sugary as they may be to us. He wants honest, raw worship and obedience. He wants us to call out to Him in those times of trouble, so He can lift us out of the mess, and show others the Way. It’s tough work. Sometimes it’s messy and things don’t go as planned. Sometimes we have a lot of cleaning up to do. Often, we get given the chance to do it all over again — and learn from our mistakes, as we work towards “perfection”.

Keep following along. The Mitton crew has buckets full of more chances at perfection sitting in the freezer. And if you receive a cute bottle of syrup from Itsnotta Farm — ignore the floaties –and enjoy the sweetness! Just know it was painstakingly life lessoned and prepared for you with lots of love and time!

I was Inspired by the Trees

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I was inspired last week. I came up with a great idea and got excited about it. Today, I am not so sure. Story of my life. This is our first spring on #itsnotta farm and I’ve already ordered my seeds for this year’s garden. I can handle that. What else happens in Canadian spring? Maple syrup. Nothing more Canadian than the sticky, sweet sap of a sugar maple wrapped up in a glass bottle with a custom sticker on it, right?! I was inspired last week. The previous owner left buckets and spigots and assured us there were trees in our forest patch. We went looking the other day. We have maples, yes, but do you think we know the first thing about gathering sap and tapping trees?! Google on the hubby’s phone and wikihow didn’t help much either. It’s early February. Days are warm and nights are cool. ”They” say the sap is running. Whoever “they” are. ”They” aren’t helping.

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I was inspired last week. I put out a plea to a local Facebook group for sap mentoring. I sent an email. I inspired someone else in the group to try syrup again this year! I have yet to have help. There’s still time, I tell myself. Just drill a few holes. Spend hours in front of a fire, boiling down sap (that apparently lines the walls in a gooey condensation). Use up firewood and propane. The results will be worth it. It can’t be that hard. I’m still inspired. 

Did you know that trees defy gravity? Huge, round maples, towering out of the ground in multilayered trunks and limbs cannot move, but they do defy gravity. Without boring ya’ll with the science behind tree sap, just know that due to a bunch of root pressure, certain temperatures, and the need for leaf food from root nourishment… sugary sap flows UP. Against the grain. Trees fight gravity and win. (If you really want to know all the gory, science-y details, here’s a good article to read: Maple Syrup Mechanics).

I am always amazed at how God has designed nature to defy the odds and win. Nature in its simplest form declares the Glory of God. Wholly and uniquely. Creativity in the max. I’m still inspired. Hands that flung stars into space, also created the mighty ant who carries up to 50 times its own body weight. Furthermore, so much of that creation was given to us to enjoy! The fruits of the vine. The sugars of the tree. The sun on our faces. The colours of the sky. We should all be inspired.

The crew has been learning to adjust to a new culture here. Things are slower. Things are both good and bad. Things are certainly different. We don’t know anyone. We have no roots here. We have very little history with the people we have met, and we are still trying to maneuver our way around without the comforts of “home”. Some days it feels like we are trying to defy the laws of gravity. Pushing upward in an attempt to feed our souls. Trying to fit in but not really knowing where we belong. We want the sweetness of real friendship but it’s just out of reach. Thus far. Like the maple trees, we need the right conditions to “get things flowing” so to speak. We have to keep trying. We have to be patient and kind and understanding. We hope that those around us do the same for us. 

If there is one thing we can learn from God’s creation it is that we can do hard things. We can be inspired to push onwards and upwards. A friend used to tell me that she could only love certain people because of an “extraterrestrial force”. She meant that only God could give her that unearthly dose of love for that person… she didn’t have it in her own heart. She couldn’t do it on her own. Inspiring. 

I’m still hoping we will tap some trees in our little woods. I’m still hoping we will not be disappointed in the effort and get a few bottles of syrup. I hope we will try to do hard things and be rewarded for our efforts. Because the results are sweet, aren’t they? I’m hoping we get some response to our cries for help. Maybe we have to bite the bullet and just drill a few holes and see what happens. That’s what Youtube is for, right? I’ll keep you posted on that adventure.

Photo by Marta Wave on Pexels.com

As to the rest — pray with us that we take inspiration from the trees and do hard things. We know God grants us the ability to do so. We must continue to plug on through the cold winter season, knowing that soon the spring will come and new life begins to literally flow in our veins. Then we will reap the sweet reward of our labours and enjoy the taste of lasting friendships and new beginnings. I am inspired once more.