West Coast maple syrup

[quilbilly]

Last weekend we finished our first batch of maple syrup from our big leaf maples here on the Olympic Peninsula. 5-1/4 gallons of sap makes 16 oz. of syrup. Wow is it good! The flavor is so intense as is the sweetness that it only takes about 1/4 of what you would use of store bought syrup. We also tapped a couple alders and syrup from them is also good but they produce so little sap that they are hardly worth the effort.

[reloader28]

There is nothing better than fresh, straight from the boiler syrup!!!

All we get around here is the watered down garbage that the stores pass off as syrup. Not even close.

Honey is the same way. Straight from the hive is best.:-D

[plmitch]

Fresh syrup is always the best. I used to tap trees with my Dad when I was a kid. A heck of alot of work collecting it and watching the pot but well worth it in the end. Maple candy was such a treat for us kids.

[quilbilly]

We had a week of great sap production when it was sunny during the day and frosty in the morning then typical NW cloudy weather moved back in and stopped everything. Last week we had one sunny day and got 1/2 gal. of sap. The amazing thing is that only the smaller trees (6-12" in diam) produce worth a darn. Our big maples (20" plus) never produce.

[quilbilly]

We are just finishing up our last batch of syrup. We got a couple gallons of sap last week but I think the trees are about done until next winter. When don't that syrup is out of this world. Next winter I may have to get serious and do 10-12 trees instead of the five this winter.

[legend]

I am a transplanted vermonter and i miss making maple syrup every year!

[10 ga]

My first wifes family tapped trees up in the blue ridge in SW VA. Not just maple but they tapped Sycamore, Walnut, Pecan and Hickory. None better than home made. Like Quidbilly posted only takes about 1/4 as much as the sugared syrup that comes from the store.