For those of you who may not know, maple syrup can usually only be made once a year. That sweet sap only comes from the maple tree during the time of year when night temperatures are freezing and day temperatures rise above zero. Add some sun and those trees produce a lot of sap.
The sap has about 2% sugar content, which means we have to boil off all the water to get that sweetness-loaded maple syrup you are used to. So you can appreciate that spoonful a little more next time, consider that it takes approximately 40 litres of sap to make 1 litre of maple syrup. Yup, it’s a lot of work.
This year, it’s been a lot of work that just never seems to end. Because the weather has been switching back and forth between cold and hot, we keep getting more and more syrup. It’s been three weeks since we started boiling, and we have the most syrup we’ve ever made!
The only problem is that we still don’t make enough to sell. After taking care of our own personal maple syrup supply, plus handing out some sweet bribes here and there, we don’t have much syrup left to show for all our hard work.
But no worries. Not everything has to be sold, plus we have our expert crew of Manny and Steve who are looking to tap more of those sugar maples next year. Building a shack out in the bush to boil off the water will also save all the work of going back and forth. Until next year, stay tuned!