Hi
@Kadee
Here is how the process is done to make maple syrup. ( as requested )
1/.Make sure your trees are ready to be tapped. Maple season occurs during the spring when nights are below 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius) and days are starting to get warm. This causes the sap to start flowing in trees.[1]
The maple season is over when this temperature pattern ends. At this time the color of the sap will become darker. If sap is collected after the season is over it will be low in sugar content and have an undesirable taste.
2/. Select trees. There are many different types of Maple trees. Various types have different sugar content; the higher the better. The Sugar Maple has the highest sugar content. The maple tree has a distinct five point leaf. Typically, a tree should be at least 10 inches in diameter before it is tapped.
3/. Purchase taps. These are also known as spiles. Online is the easiest place to buy taps. Most taps are the same, but the collection containers differ quite a bit. Determine what style of collection container you will use: a bag, an attached bucket, a ground bucket, or a tube network (usually used by advanced syrup-makers). If you don't feel like buying a bucket, a clean milk jug will work fine. Avoid buying and installing a tube network if you haven't tapped before.
4/.Drill a hole into a maple tree and insert a tap, which is a tool that allows you to collect the sap from inside. Attach a collection container to the tap, and wait for it to fill up. Collect the sap and filter it through a coffee filter. Boil the sap, then filter it one more time before putting it in sterilized jars.
• An electric hand drill works well for this task.
• You could also drill a hole using a hammer and a long nail; hammer it in, then remove it.
5/. Attach a collection container. It is best to cover containers to keep out rainwater and bugs.
6/. Tap more trees. 40 gallons of sap makes just one gallon of syrup, which is why store-bought maple syrup is so expensive.[4] A good number of trees to tap for a beginner is 7 to 10; you'll get about 10 gallons from each tree per season, so you'll end up with a few gallons of maple syrup.
7/. Collect the sap. Over the course of a few weeks, check the collecting containers every few days.[5] Transfer the sap to sealed buckets or other large containers for storage. Keep collecting sap until the season has ended. Now you're ready to turn the sap into syrup.
Boiling the Sap
1/. Filter the sap. If you have a smaller amount of sap, this is easiest done with a coffee filter. This is only to remove any sediment, bugs, or twigs from the sap. You could also reach in and remove large pieces of debris with a slotted spoon. The sap will be filtered again later, after it's boiled.
2/. Build a fire to boil the sap. Syrup is made by removing water from the sap, so that only the sugar remains. Sap contains only about 2 % sugar. You can use an evaporator, which is a machine made specifically for boiling sap into syrup, or a less expensive alternative like a good, hot fire (you can also boil it in a pan on the stove, but you're evaporating so much moisture that your whole house will fill with steam). To build an outdoor fire for sap boiling, follow these steps:
Get one or more 5 gallon pots.Dig a shallow hole in the ground where you want to build the fire.
Build a box out of cinder blocks around the hole. It need only be large enough to accommodate all of your pots. Set a fire grate in the box to hold the pots, leaving enough space below the grate to build a fire.
Build a fire under the grate so it will heat the pots.
3/. Add sap to the pots. Fill them about 3/4 full of sap. The flames should lick the bottom of the pans and bring the sap to a boil. As the water evaporates, slowly add more sap. Continue stoking the fire and adding sap to the pots until the pots are half full with the remaining sap.
• The process of boiling sap down to syrup takes many hours, and you can't take any breaks or you'll end up with burned maple syrup. The fire needs to be hot enough to keep the sap boiling constantly.
• Do no more than 5 gallon at a time
4/. The sap will change colour when it’s ready . This will take several hours. When it’s ready take sap off of the fire and bring indoor. Once cooled filter sap for any impurities and set aside.
5/. On stove top, boil syrup to reach 219 degrees. This may take an hour or two . Make sure you have a thermometer. Once it reaches 219 the bubbles will change . Remove from stove.
Finishing the Syrup
1/. Filter the finished syrup. When the sap is boiled it produces niter, or "sugar sand." The niter will settle to the bottom if not filtered. Filtering will remove niter and other substrate that might have gotten into the syrup, like ash from the fire or bugs that flew in. Place a few pieces of cheesecloth over a large bowl and pour the syrup in; you may have to do this a few times to get all the niter out.[7]
• Filter the syrup while it's still quite hot, or else it will stick to the cheesecloth.
• Special cotton filters made to absorb less syrup are available for sale online.
2/. Pour the syrup into sterilized containers.Glass mason jars work well, or you could reuse old maple syrup containers that have been boiled. Put the lids on the syrup jars immediately.
3/. Remove taps from trees at the end of the season. Do not plug the holes; they will close by themselves.
4/. Store maple syrup in cool dark place
