The urban tapping and syrup experiment has come to a close. With the daytime temperatures hitting in the high teens and even 23C the sap has official stopped. The ideal sap running temperatures are approximately plus + 5-6C during the day and down to minus - 5-6C at night. This prompts the tree to force sap up and down the sap wood for a period of weeks until it is safe to hold the moisture in the branches and is ready to start forming buds and leaves. Keeping the sap in the branches during freezing temperatures would cause expanding and splitting in the wood. As more sap travels up the sap wood from deeper in the roots later into the season, the natural tannin effects the maple syrup's colour and "grade". Maple Syrup is graded exclusively on colour and we find taste becomes stronger as the colour darkens.
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Here's my suburban snapshot of the first when I set-up the bucket on my Norway Maple.
Instagram @theterriblephotographer |
My suburban maple syrup project went much better this year! I (My dad) only burnt one batch down. We got about 3 (ish) jars in the end. You can clearly see the difference in colour from one batch to the next. Next year I should get smaller containers so I can keep track of the grade with each boil-off. The first jar would have been much lighter had I not poured some of the third batch into it. However that last jar shows how dark it can become at the end of the season.
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| Random jar's lined up on the counter from this year's run! YUM! |
The first batch has creamy maple sugar settled on the bottom, I can't wait to spread this on my toast. I also realized that I use lots of maple in baking, however I like it to eat when winter comes around again, as I don't really like warm breakfast foods in the spring and summer. Something about using my own syrup is so sacred - I always hesitate - but savoured so.
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| First batch vs. the second round batch, from light amber to darker grade. |
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| All three together for comparison! I'll have to have a fancy tasting. |
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| A book I bought at TSC this year "Backyard Sugarin'" by Rink Mann |
Overall the season went well, it was long enough to gain more syrup then last year. I only wish I had more trees to tap. Three jars just isn't quiet enough. I will definitely try and get smaller jars or containers for the grading test next year - try to boil day to day the sap coming in. I will say that the lighter syrup certainly has a more delicate taste and almost "buttery" flavour? I'm not sure if maybe these favour cues are specific to the Norway Maple or not. Well, one more project checked off the 2015 list and another edible product made from this Suburban micro-farm!
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| Two types of Olive eggs being laid right now - Love the speckled eggs! |
Chickens haven't been laying as much as I would like right now, the super cold winter and short days, and more recently cloudy days has affected the majority of the egg laying. It seems that some of the hens might need to be culled and replaced - a shame, but a necessary evil. I would like to get more dark brown layers and true blue. I have exciting renovations planned for the coop area - including the introduction of a green-roof rabbit hutch, serving as both an actual rabbit hutch and as a barrier to stop chickens like spike from flying up to the fence and out into the yard. She can only reach the lattice fence into the yard because the back of the run slopes up and it shortens the height for her escape - thankfully it doesn't go the other way around!
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