Maple sugaring time occurs from February till March here in New Ipswich, NH. The maple sap runs when the temperature drops below freezing at nighttime while remaining relatively warm during the day. We have several commercial Sugarhouses in our area. Most are open for tours during the Maple season. It is great to visit these and smell the fragrant maple scented steam.

In 2010 our friend Lenny Swenson thought it would be a great idea to make our own batch of syrup. We decided to do it the old fashion way with metal buckets. He tapped a few of his trees and I tapped my ancient sugar maple near my driveway.

Collecting Sap

At night some of the sap would freeze. The ice was mostly water and discarding it would effectively raise the percentage of sugar remaining in the sap. The professionals would use reverse osmosis as the first step in production. Collecting this daily was a pain especially when it involved trudging through the snow.

Our little syrup experiment was a group effort of several families. In these photos Lynda and her sister Faith gathered sap from metal buckets.

A Team Effort

I took a a group photo of the Syrup Team before we starting boiling the sap. This took place outside because it produces a lot of steam. From left to right, Lenny Swenson, Faith Tobin, Lynda Swenson and the late Bill Tobin.

Boil, Boil and Bottle

Lenny led the operation. He checked the temperature of the sap with a candy thermometer. As the sap thickened the temperature would rise. He was using a hot plate and aluminum pans for the boiling. The professionals use a stainless steel pan with channels. The professionals also don’t put their head in the pan.

The syrup was pretty good. It was a work  and energy intensive operation. Visit your local sugarhouse and buy a quart or two. Stick your head into the evaporator pan.