So you have a bunch of sugar maples in your backyard and want to try making your own syrup, but you don’t have the necessary equipment or a spare few thousand dollars to invest in it. What do you do?
Well, just head down to your nearest agricultural supply store and drop a couple bucks on a tap and a bucket. That’s all you really need.
Dean Wilber, owner of Mapletree Farm in Concord, knows a thing or two about making maple syrup – he’s been doing it practically his entire life. That’s why we figured he’d be a good guy to get some pointers from. After all, he makes hundreds of gallons of the stuff at his home every year, so he’s got plenty of experience.
Basically, he said, you just need to buy a tap or taps, depending on how many trees you want to tap. These little things can be bought at Osborne’s Agway on Sheep Davis Road for just a few dollars. Just drill a small hole a few inches deep into the trunk and work the spigot in.
Then, you’ll need something to catch all the sap. Most people use plastic or metal buckets, though Wilber has seen some interesting methods in his day, including somebody even using an empty kitty litter container.
For the record, Wilber does not recommend the kitty litter method, but hey, that’s just him.
If you opt for a plastic bucket, look for one that specifically says it’s food-grade – these can also be found at Agway. If you want to try a metal bucket like a real old-timer, make sure you don’t use one that contains any lead – back in the day, they were all lead, Wilber said, and some folks even still use lead pails today, though he swore off the toxic metal many, many years ago.
Once you’ve gathered lots of sap – this can take several days, depending on the weather – you’ll need to boil it. This is where it pays to know a maple pro like Wilber.
You’ll want to boil it outside, if possible, otherwise the sticky steam will glaze your whole house in a light sheen of syrup, or worse.
“I steamed the wallpaper right off the walls,” Wilber said of that time he tried to do it in the kitchen.
One popular method is using a turkey fryer. If you don’t have one of those, you could also try using a big pot on the grill – just be prepared to let it sit for quite a while.
Once it has boiled long enough to evaporate the water, it’s basically maple syrup. The final steps are filtering, which, if you’re doing it at home just for yourself, isn’t a huge priority, but you can certainly filter it if you want. Try using cheesecloth or something similar.
And of course, have fun!
