Make your own MAPLE SYRUP

Sugaring season is from late FEBRUARY through early APRIL, Identify a sugar Maple tree 12 inches in diameter. On the sunny side of the tree, find a healthy spot at waist height. AT an upward angle, drill a 2 inch deep hole large enough to accommodate the spout.Use a mallet to drive your spout (called a SPILE) into the hole. Multiple taps in the same tree should be at least 6 inches apart, Hang a clean, covered container, called a sap bucket , but some people use other containers. athey all will work as long as they can catch the sap as it runs out of the tree thru the spile, keep the bucket covered if you can. Collect the sap each day and keep it cold to prevent souring. Boil it as soon as possible. It takes 10 GALLONS of sap to make 1QUART of SYRUP. An average MAPLE TREE with a single tap will yield about 10 gallons over the course of a sugaring season. Start the boiling process outdoors. As the water in the sap begins to evoporate, continue to add cold sap to the boiling sap. Don't overfill the pan because it could boil over (apply melted butter to the rim of the pan to help keep the boiling sap from foaming.)  Keep at least an inch of sap in the bottom of the pan at all times to avoid having it burn. Use a candy thermometer to monitor the temperature. The finished syrup should be 7.5 degrees above the boiling point of water, which varies by elevation. Filter the boiling syrup through a clean, wet white felt or paper filter into a glass jar. Seal the jar and tip it on it's side for several minutes as the syrup cools. Sealed jars of syrup can be stored at room temperature but should be refrigerated after being opened for use. Properly prepared syrup can also be stored in the freezer. Use hot water , but not soap to clean equipment. Taps should be removed from the trees when the first buds appear.MAPLE SYRUP comes in Grades; GRADE A (a very light , has a mild more delicate maple flavor)GRADE A Medium amber, a bit darkerm and more maple flavor, GRADE A DARK AMBER has a stronger maple flavor. And GRADE B is made latein the season and is very dark, with a very strong maple flavor.      MAPLE SYRUP  delicious to drink straight, or use on ice cream and is used to make special special pies, cakes etc.       One of the best ways as a child for me was to have what we called SUGAR ON SNOW; Boil maple syrup until it spins a thread, Pour in tiny stream over hard packed fresh snow. The snow is arranged either in a soup dishes or in one very large bowl for ever one to dip into, Old timers like to eat pickles so you can eat more sugar cuz MAPLE SYRUP is extremly sweet.