A fellow FF member from New York unsolicitedly mailed me a jug of Maple Syrup. It came yesterday so today it was biscuits and syrup for supper.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20011/DSCN0735.JPG)
I can testify that New York produces the best maple syrup than from any other state or province. digin_2 It's gotta be true because no one else has ever sent me any. ;D
I can testify that New York produces the best maple syrup than from any other state or province. [/quote]
Being from the Adirondacks, I have to agree with you Lynn. There is Nothing like the Real thing. He must be a good friend, that stuff is liquid gold.
Kevin
:D :D :D Must be true, seems logical to me.
I've had some good stuff from Pat in Michigan. He boiled it down darker, which is more intense flavour. My grandfather did it this way to. :) I'm sure Jeff will give a testimonial on Pat's syrup. ;)
Ill testify that Pat's maple syrup will always be the most precious syrup ever. I miss that guy. :'(
MM,
I am not sure about your claim. I will have to try some myself to find out :D.
??? ??? I will not know any different unless I have something to compare it with. :)
Quote from: Magicman on February 08, 2012, 09:23:42 PM
??? ??? I will not know any different unless I have something to compare it with. :)
This is MM's second offer to try a sample from another location. Any takers? He's running out of bait. ;D
Looks great!
My favorite is buttermilk pancakes smothered in warm butter and warm maple syrup. :)
Quote from: rockman on February 08, 2012, 06:46:37 PM
There is Nothing like the Real thing. He must be a good friend, that stuff is liquid gold. Kevin
We have never met, but yes, I consider Chuck White to be a good friend. :)
Pat's syrup was the best. I miss the syrup and I miss Pat too!
We picked up some syrup in The West End of The UP last fall. Jill made pancakes last night so we tried it and this syrup is light colored, thin and tastes like smoke.
Did I mention I miss Pat?
I like maple syrup on my buttered cakes or waffles. I prefer blue ribbon cane syrup on my hot, buttered, scratch made, cathead buttermilk biscuits. I'll eat sorghum syrup when I have nothing else.
Blackburn Made, cane syrup has always been my mainstay because that is what Daddy used. I have eaten Maple syrup, but this is the first "homemade" that I have ever had. :)
Lynn it was as though I was compelled to send you something that was specifically a product of New York. digin1
Glad your family likes it!
Chuck
My last batch was 2010 not making any this year either as the temps are kind of poor for a good run. I do mine over open wood fire and did have a bad batch due to using some popple wood in the fire that left it skunky. I learned my lesson there I use only Maple, Apple or Oak/Hickory & some elm for boiling it down. I like the hint of cherry or apple wood in it for smoke but usually only make a part batch with the smoke around the syrup. then I tighten up for higher volume boils so there are no smoky flavorings. I hoping I have enough to last me through the rest of the year...
Mark
The maple sugar process is something I'm completely unfamiliar with, other than what I've read about on the forum. For those of you that do this to sell your product, a few questions, what size containers are average, and what is the cost? It looks like it would be very labor intensive and at the same time very rewarding work. Magicman, it sure is nice having friends in high places eh? :)
Upstate is high....right ???
some forsale on local CL 7bucks a pint 48/gallon, and spread of prices in between for first run. I gave a bunch away to friends family neighbors ect for a while was trading for honey and swapping syrup with a different person for different flavors. processing can make a big difference to taste..
Mark
MM, have you tried it on grits? You never know what its like if you dont. bg
Sorry about that, after re-reading my post, that sounded horrible. Yes MM I meant your friend was to the to the north (higher places), and no I'm absolutely NOT a doper. Once again sorry for the bad wording.
Maple Syrup made in the North by Yankees will make all grits taste bad to someone from the South. ;D Why waste good maple syrup made by a Yankee? ;D
sandhills, I thought that your wording was perfect and I completely understood it's meaning and I liked it. I just bumped it "Up" a bit. "Up" to Upstate to show my gratitude to Chuck White. smiley_thumbsup
Now to 'xplain about grits and syrup. Only butter goes on grits or maybe sometimes a couple of fried eggs right in the middle of a pile of grits. That is it. Ya don't mix two good things like syrup and grits.
Now syrup, that goes on waffles, pancakes (hotcakes), and in the plate to be sopped up with good buttered biscuits. Matter of fact, my Dad called molasses and syrup "sops". musteat_1
WOW!! That's a relief. I was thinking that Yankee made Maple Syrup was being wasted. That will make Coon feel better too. ;D
Magicman, I will need to come to your house to test your hypothesis that NY maple syrup is the best, so's I can report back with an unbiased opinion to the rest of the FF. Come to think of it, we will need maple syrups from various Canadian provinces and northerly US states if we are to reach and firm conclusions. Any other forum members from the sugar maple states willing to help out? Tell the Magicwoman that we will need plenty of biscuits ;D
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/14445/1150/Syrup.JPG)
It's the best!!!
My gallon runneth dry need more!!
INFO:
It's a process of evaporation.
It takes about 40 gallons of sap to boil down to make 1 gallon of syrup.
Dodgy Loner, you are absolutely correct, and she is a biscuit cooking machine. As Shotgun pointed out, I tried....twice. I have all of the necessary ingredients plus the unbiased tasters, but no Maple Syrup samples.
Something to think about is that we're coming up on the maple syrup production time. Any syrup worth talking about has probably already been sold. I'd wait a few weeks before I would be asking for samples, Magicman. You'll no doubt get a better product (for testing, etc.) toward the end of the next 6 weeks, or so. Be patient. Keep eating your grits. Maybe they'll be gone by maple syrup time. ;)
Norm
I don't eat syrup on grits, either :).
I was working on some of my sap lines today. Syrup is made in many ways.
To collect the sap it varies from the old galvanized bucket to modern plastic pipeline to every tree.
To hold the sap it varies from old stock tanks to poly or stainless tanks with UV lights to sterilize the top of the sap.
To remove the water it varies from an old kettle over the fire to the use of reverse osmosis to remove most of the water, then into a large (mine is 4' x 12') oil fired syrup evaporator up to 6' wide x 20' long.
Filtering varies from letting gravity pull the syrup through a felt filter to using pumps to push the syrup through a filter press that removes all the little "floaties" and the "sugar sand" that precipitates out of the syrup as it is concentrated.
The standard plastic 'jug' that syrup is packed in costs the producer anywhere from .75 for smaller ones to 2.50 for gallon sized.
Syrup is supposed to be packaged at 190 degrees F so it sterilizes the container it goes into.
Pure maple syrup is the concentrated sap of maple trees. Nothing is allowed to be added.
I take most of what I make to New Hampshire and sell it bulk in 5 to 30 gallon containers. I would guess that they label it as Ohio Syrup, but I don't know for sure.
That syrup that you brought to the Pig Roast about 4 years ago was awesome. I can still taste it.
Hey BBTOM:
how is the Sawing & Sugaring going down there? I've been working in West Salem last few years. Not at the Pottery any longer so dont go by your way much.
Not making any syrup this year myself still have enough from 2010 to keep me thru end of fall anyhow. That was a very good year for my trees made maybe 10 gallons over open wood fire yummy stuff...
mark M
It should be starting to run here soon, it's been so mild. And we are only going to get a couple cold days this weekend and then back mild. I'll have to break off a twig on a maple and watch for the sap to flow on a sunny day. It's still 31 degrees here right now at 11:00 pm.
We did it again! Hot biscuits and Maple Syrup, but still no grits, but close. I laid a few hot tamales beside them. food6
We had to open up a fresh jar today, w some nice french toast & bacon it was nice & yummy one of the batches w cherry & apple smoke flavor.
mark
Quote from: WDH on February 10, 2012, 07:05:12 PM
I don't eat syrup on grits, either :).
:D I don't eats grits period ,maple surple or no .
On the the maple though ,they will be setting the taps here pretty soon .You either have a taste for it or not .It's not bad on ice cream .
Are you joining the Grits Bashing Club, too ??? :D
No just different strokes for different folks .
Down south they try to pawn them off on you with everything .Grits and eggs,grits and steak ,grits and grits .
I can stand hominy if I have enough gravey to drown them but I draw the line with hominy made from corn meal which is what grits are .Corn leached with lye .
Yeah my southern buddies think I'm nuts but give me my good old yankee fried taters with those eggs :)
Quote from: Al_Smith on February 12, 2012, 07:42:17 AM
but I draw the line with hominy made from corn meal which is what grits are .Corn leached with lye .
Just to clarify a bit. Hominy is leached with lye and has a completely different taste than grits. Grits are not leached, but are just simply course ground either white or yellow corn.
Coon will be here pretty quick to straighten all you grits guy out. ;D We are strong in numbers. ;D
I posted this almost three years ago.
I'd have to check to see if the bag we purchased is still in the pantry. :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OnE8oigYGY
Thanks, after corn is ground it is sifted through various dimension screens. The results are flour, cornmeal, grits, and chops. When I carried corn (which was in a sack thrown across the saddle with me) to the mill, my main product that I wanted was chops for the chickens. In this instance the flour, cornmeal, and grits were really a byproduct. The miller set the mill to mainly produce the product that you wanted.
I can assure you that in those days, grits were not a joke, they were food. Sometimes though, Mom would run out of grits and she would cook cornmeal mush. I did like it as well, but we had to eat.
Hold It!!! How did we go from Maple sryup to Grits.
I will get in on the tasting contest, I will send u some of mine when we are finished canning in April.
Favourite ways and food to eat Maple Syrup
1-Cold Sap of the 1st run...just tip the bucket and drink
2- right out of the finishing pan with the ladle
3-buttermilk pancakes
4-dip homemade chocolate chip cookies in the finishing pan --hot syrup
5-vanilla ice cream
6- and finally taught to me by my Dad....fresh italian bread, cut 2 inches thick, smothered in peanut butter, and a bowl full of warm Maple Syrup...and a spoon to eat the syrup with...This is my favourite but I can only do it when the other half is home... :)
Put some on some snow and pick up kinda just the syrup and eat it. Best when the syrup has not had a chance to get as cold as the snow.
MM would have to crush up some ice to try that trick. ;D
What is this "snow" stuff that you are talking about ??? ???
Quote from: Stephen1 on February 12, 2012, 01:48:55 PM
I will get in on the tasting contest, I will send u some of mine when we are finished canning in April.
Mark your calendars and get ready to travel and I'm thinking sometimes in May. We are going to have a Maple Syrup Sopping. Plenty of hot biscuits, butter, sausage, and maple syrup from several different locations. food1 digin1 digin_2 food6 It sounds like a plan.
Maybe we could also have a "Pear Tree" wedding. smiley_love smiley_divide lol oz_smiley
:D Well to grit or not to grit ??
That aside the production of maple syrup has quite a history in these parts .Although Ohio was never one of the top producing states at one time it was suppliment on many farms when basically the weather was such it's about all they could do to make money .
Fact the delapidated relics of many an abandoned sugar camp can still be found throughout this area in small patchs of woods .
I know several who collect sap and a few that have regular gravity pans .The production volume is low but they enjoy doing it .
Quote from: Magicman on February 12, 2012, 08:22:39 AM
Quote from: Al_Smith on February 12, 2012, 07:42:17 AM
but I draw the line with hominy made from corn meal which is what grits are .Corn leached with lye .
Just to clarify a bit. Hominy is leached with lye and has a completely different taste than grits. Grits are not leached, but are just simply course ground either white or yellow corn.
Magicman is correct. Hominy and grits are not one and the same.
In defense of hominy, though, the treatment of corn with a strong alkali (which can be either lye or lime) has a multitude of nutritional benefits - it converts some of the niacin into a form more absorbable by the body, improves the availability of the amino acids, and (at least in the lime-treated variant) supplements the calcium content. Look at the label next time you buy corn tortillas or tortilla chips - more than likely, the first ingredient is "ground corn treated with lime". The tradition of treating corn with lye or lime dates back thousands of year, as many Native Americans' maize-heavy diets would have resulted in the disease pellagra, if the maize had not been treated alkali to liberate the niacin.
But enough about corn. When did you say the maple syrup will be ready? ;D
this morning the spigot is frozen solid at -6 below. :D But tomorrow it is going to thaw out. ;D
Not to get you guys stirred up again, but sap's running here!!
I have not even checked it, it's been mild enough.
Yep, I have 600 of mine tapped, and already had 700 Gallon of sap in the tank when I quit last night. I better go check and make sure it isn't running over this morning. That tank only holds 1700 gallon.
The season it tis upon us. Good luck to everyone.
Quote from: thecfarm on February 12, 2012, 01:56:55 PM
Put some on some snow and pick up kinda just the syrup and eat it. Best when the syrup has not had a chance to get as cold as the snow.
MM would have to crush up some ice to try that trick. ;D
Back when I was a kid, my mom uses to make "wax on snow" of course it was really over-boiled maple syrup!
She would boil some (already finished) syrup until it would get to the "crack" stage on the candy thermometer, then just ladle strings of it across a pan of snow (to rapidly cool it), then we would take a fork and stick one end of the string of "wax" and roll it up until it was about the size of a lollipop.
We really enjoyed the treat.
Word of caution: Make sure you get
clean snow!
http://northcountrynow.com/news/sugar-snow-time-honored-treat-north-country-050901
You guys are making me hungry! ;D
Grits and brocoli are of the same value to me, neither should be had with maple syrop.
I don't eat broccoli with my maple syrup, either :).
Broccoli with Maple Syrup? Hmm, I'll have to try that. I've always used ketchup on my broccoli.
You gotta watch that guy, he'll pull one over on ya. ;D ;)
We are we are all tapped, 250 taps, we had to restring some line as the wires snapped in the cold, -20C and 3 trees down on top of them, the wind on Saturday was pretty strong.
Along with the wind came a return of winter, snow and cold, but today going to warm up and I,m guessing we get a run for the next 3 days.
I am much too far South to have Maple trees to tap, but I have been steadily tapping my jug that Chuck White sent me. Hot biscuits and syrup again last night. digin1
And I am supposed to be saving some of it for an "Official Forestry Forum Taste Off". :-X
No MM, save it for the next chicken crispin. bg
That will work Bill. Sop syrup in the morning and then Chickin Crispin for lunch. In the meantime, y'all can fondle my AXE and chop down a few Sweetgums.
You need an axe to grind. I heard that you hates sweetgums :D.
We had buttermilk pancakes with store bought maple syrup last night. Good stuff!
Ya'll are a killin me! I'm goin to the kitchen. ;)
MM, it doesnt get any better than that. I believe the axe is to sharp for the average guy to handle, so a little on the job trainning should be required. bg
I've seen more people cut themselves with a dull axe, than a sharp one. That may sound like an old wives tale, but I have worked with a bunch of green horns from the cities in southern BC and I can recall at least 6 or 8 of'm cutting a knee. ::) They would often throw the axe over tough spots in the line of site and of course an axe gets dinged up hitting the ground and rocks and stuff.
having had pure maple syrup from many places for many years,i have to say that the syrup from south central ontario ranks as the best i have had-imho. hard to beat that from the n.e. but canadian syrup tastes the best.
Spoken like a Canadian. :) :)
artmo, where are you located?
Lets see, tonight we had scrambled eggs, patty sausage, biscuits, and Maple Syrup. food3 As Grandpa Jones would have said, "Yum Yum".
When the wife & son want pancakes, syrup & sausage, I opt for french toast, syrup & sausage.
I don't really know why, but I just don't care for pancakes.
Could be related to my first job, which was the cooks helper at one of the bigger Adirondack Hunting Clubs in the area. That was the Fall after I graduated High School.
When all the members were in camp (and the camp was full) I would get up at 4:30 AM and get the griddle going and make somewhere between 350 to 500 pancakes for the members breakfast. The Cook did the sausage!
That is a lotta :o pancakes to flip. I like them but they are seldom on our menu. That syrup is good. smiley_thumbsup
Been There- only half a Canadian. spend 6 mos./yr. in the Muskoka Lakes N. of Toronto and 4 mos. in ithe holler in Ky. had a hobby farm a while ago in your area-Grant County in S.W. wisc. Great sugaring there! Loved it. Art
Try this recipe just once and you'll be hooked on them again Chuck!
Buttermilk Pancakes
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (cake flour works even better if you have it)
1 egg
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/8 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Put all ingredients into a blender and run until well mixed. If no blender just use the mixer on high speed. Double if you have more than 2 people or if your a big eater like me!
I printed the recipe, may have to give 'em a try Norm.
Thanks;
I printed a copy for PatD and she said that it was what she was using. Don't mess with a good recipe. :)
We did it again. Eggs, bacon, biscuits, and Maple Syrup. food3
If I keep this up, I will not have any to share with the "Maple Syrup Tasting Team". ;D
Well with the help of Chuck White I ordered and received a quart of maple syrup last week and finally got around to cooking something for it tonight, don't worry I'd already dipped my finger in it a few times just to be sure it was good, can't ever have enough quality control you know ;). I had pancakes, eggs over easy, and bacon. Didn't have all the fixin's for Norm's buttermilk pancakes but man was it good!
Yup, Chuck's Brother turns out some fine squeezings. food6
You are not supposed to squeeze the maple tree or the charmin :).
Maple syrup production may be down this year because of the early warm weather. But have no fear, we here in Canada have the "Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve", where by we hold 2 or 3 years supply. Prices are not expected to rise this year. New prices are set every 2 or 3 years. :)
[heard this on CBC radio] ;)
Glad to hear that you've finally tried and liked the Maple Syrup Pat.
History: Way back in U.S. History, maple syrup was used as a sweetener because granulated sugar was unheard of.
I like it as flavor/sweetener on oatmeal, as well as cold cereals!
During the war, granulated sugar and probably molasses were scarce so they used syrup from maple, but also birch.
Quote from: SwampDonkey on March 29, 2012, 06:47:51 AM
Maple syrup production may be down this year because of the early warm weather. But have no fear, we here in Canada have the "Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve", where by we hold 2 or 3 years supply. Prices are not expected to rise this year. New prices are set every 2 or 3 years. :)
[heard this on CBC radio] ;)
SD, you need to fill Ianab in on the "Strategic Reserve" part, maybe next time they won't run out of Marmite. :D
Quote from: sandhills on March 29, 2012, 04:00:55 PM
Quote from: SwampDonkey on March 29, 2012, 06:47:51 AM
Maple syrup production may be down this year because of the early warm weather. But have no fear, we here in Canada have the "Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve", where by we hold 2 or 3 years supply. Prices are not expected to rise this year. New prices are set every 2 or 3 years. :)
[heard this on CBC radio] ;)
SD, you need to fill Ianab in on the "Strategic Reserve" part, maybe next time they won't run out of Marmite. :D
When I was stationed in Alaska, a few people that I knew tapped Red Birch, similar to what we call Gray Birch.
I never got to try the syrup though.
Molasses, it's fructose sugar. Maple is sucrose.
Chuck, just wanted to let you know I'm eating icecream with your syrup on it and a little apple crisp under it right now, man that's good!
smiley_thumbsup
Good stuff!
I love it on icecream, and then you have that on top of apple crisp! Yum Yum!
I'll have to try it sometime.
I was looking on the food section for cooking wild bore ribs as i hav'nt had them before.
A friend came over from spain and gave me some ribs so i looked on the net for some ideas when i came across a recipe that sounded great, unfortunetly i did'nt write down the ingrediants before going to the store but i did remember it had MAPLE SYRUP as well as a few other things i remembered like garlic and soy sauce,oh and fresh ginger and chillies.
It's going to sound strange to you guys but i hav'nt tasted maple syrup before (i live in uk) but don't hold it against me.
I'll have a look for a sticky ribs recipe on here but whatever the outcome i will let you know smiley_thumbsup
BigBore,
Welcome to the Forum!!
Take some hot buttered biscuits and slather them with maple syrup. Add some crispy bacon. That should be a good test drive.
(Note to thecfarm and Coon and Zopi, I would add some eggs over easy with some grits all mixed together, but I know that I will be summarily bashed, so I refrained :) ).
WDH,I guess I should say thanks? :D
Ray,
Coming from you, that is a gentle bash :D. I am glad to see that you have developed some sensibilities smiley_safety_glasses.
Must of caught me in a good mood. ;D
You know Danny I'm almost convinced Ray's a closet grits eater. If either of us ends up vacationing in Maine stop by unannounced and go through the pantry with a camera handy. :D
:D. Did not even know that grits come this far North. ;D
Quote from: thecfarm on April 08, 2012, 10:03:27 AM
:D. Did not even know that grits come this far North. ;D
I am not sure if they would be allowed across the border ;D.
Found a recipe for the sticky ribs and they tasted gooooood.
I had a problem deciding which maple syrup to buy as there were three types all with different prices to choose from.So which is the best?? say_what(don't forget i had'nt tasted it before).
Restaurants cook with the darker grade because it has more maple flavour than the lighter grades. My choice is the darker. That's the way my grandfather always boiled it down.
Thanks SwampDonkey, i should have guessed you were going to say that as the darkest was the most expensive :D I'll give it a try next week.
Syrup is graded as: Light Amber, Medium Amber & Dark Amber.
The light amber is considered "fancy" and therefore more $$$, but those that eat Maple Syrup usually prefer the more "robust" flavor of the medium or dark amber!
Quote from: SwampDonkey on March 29, 2012, 06:47:51 AM
Maple syrup production may be down this year because of the early warm weather. But have no fear, we here in Canada have the "Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve", where by we hold 2 or 3 years supply. Prices are not expected to rise this year. New prices are set every 2 or 3 years. :)
[heard this on CBC radio] ;)
Just heard that a Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve warehouse that holds about 10 million pounds came up shy. During an inventory check they found many barrels empty. Looking for the thieves.
http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120903/NEWS/120909964/-1/NEWSMAP
I just bought 10 contracts for maple syrup futures. Thanks for that news clip. :D :D
We'll keep that quiet, as they might be looking for who has their large supply. ;D
I knew once those southern boys got hooked they would give up anything (even grits) to find our reserves. :D :D :D
My Chuck White stash just took a hit, but I am quite certain that I know who did it.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20011/DSCN1116.JPG)
Yup, Okrafarmer ate the evidence. digin1
Okrafarmer, the look on your face tells me you liked it! ;)
Lynn, it's hard for me to believe that you're still nursing that bottle.
But, Good as maple syrup is, I can see you trying to make it last!
I confess, I have been nursing it and it only gets pulled out for special occasions. Of course the jug still looks full, but it is closer to empty. :-\
8)
I can testify that Chuck White's syrup is at least as good as the stuff I paid too much for at that tourist stand by the side of the road in Vermont this past January! Probably better.
8)
BTW, anybody ever try mixing maple syrup into your milk? Oh, now that's yummmmmy.
As a kid, I used to make syrup on the wood stove just for fun. Eventually I learned that if I didn't screen the snow flees out of the sap, and let them boil into the syrup, no one else in the family would eat the syrup.
More for me!!!!
8) 8) 8) 8) 8)
I still have a taste of Chuck White syrup left in the bottom of the jug. ;D
As a spin-off from Okra's maple syrup and milk, try this!
At the St Lawrence County fair, this year the "maple tent" was selling maple syrup milk shakes!
Definately good!
Now that would be awesome! ;D
I ran into this article about Vermont syrup, and possibly changing the grading system. Maybe some of it has been posted here. I have only bought maple syrup a couple of times. Haven't a clue on grades. Guess its whats on the store shelf. When they talk about light amber and dark, I more or less associate that with beer.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20121007/DA1OQ5BO0.html