Maple Strup Making - 2018

[JohnyMac]

Last week I boiled down 40 gallons of maple sap to gain 2 1/2 quarts (Five pints) of maple syrup.

Winter has reappeared to my neck of the woods so I will most likely get another 40-60 gallons of maple syrup to do another 'boil down' to get another 2 1/2 to a gallon of maple syrup.

Below are some pics.

Have you ever done this long but fun process?

[Nemo]

That must be some mighty freaking good stuff to collect and cook to reduce volume by about 95%.

A big bunch of work for not much final product it seems.  And I ain't sure of the fun part either.

Nemo

[JohnyMac]

I approach prepping a bit different than some others.

Using maple syrup making as a good example - I may only do this task for a year or two because yes it is time consuming, however, I feel that the good Lord has giving me the time between now and SHTF to practice and become proficient in a whole host of skills that will be needed post modern day living. 

[JoJo]

 Sounds (AHEM) like fun. All that time to boil it down and how about the time to cut the wood?

[JohnyMac]

JoJo wrote "...how about the time to cut the wood?"

Yeah however, I use left over pieces of wood to small to burn inside in the wood stove. This wood is kept specifically for boiling down maple sap.