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greenspun.com : LUSENET : Country Families : One Thread

Well, I figured Lusenet was gone for good this time. I really enjoy this because it's low-hassle and the other thing is too time consuming for a busy person. Glad this is back. Hi everybody on this cold, rainy morning. Maple syrup season is done here. We pulled the buckets yesterday so it's only to do the cleaning up. Lots of syrup to sell now, tho, so the work's not done. Y'all have a good weekend.

-- Rosalie (Dee) in IN (deatline@globalsite.net), March 09, 2002

Answers

Rosalie,do you sell thru the mail? I may be interested in buying some.willa in IL.

-- willa in IL. (goodall6@hotmail.com), March 09, 2002.

Me too!

-- Tis I (really_tis_i@ yahoo.com), March 09, 2002.

I'm not sure what the rules are on selling here but (with Melissa's permission) yes, we do ship syrup, sell at farmers' markets and festivals and directly (out the back door!) We ship by whichever is least expensive at the moment (right now, it seems to be the USPS) and to estimate postage, you can figure 11# per gallon, plus packing. We pack in standard Maple Syrup grade plastic jugs, in gallons ($34), half gallons ($18), quarts ($12) and pints ($8)all plus postage. This is pure (no additives). Indiana isn't required to grade syrup but this would be medium amber color; good flavor. Feel free to email me directly for more info. Thanks for the inquiries.

We are having a terrific storm (2:20 pm). The scanner says semis blown over, poles down, rain in sheets, a house blown down, lines down all over the place. So far, we're okay, tho.

-- Rosalie (Dee) in IN (deatline@globalsite.net), March 09, 2002.


You are more than welcome to advertise here! I love maple syrup!!!

-- Melissa in SE Ohio (me@home.net), March 09, 2002.

Hello! I was wondering why some Maple syrup is organic and others just say pure? Is there additives that are added during the processing? What kind of maple trees would one grow to eventually get maple syrup. We have a couple now, but have never tapped them. I have never heard of anyone doing that anywhere but back East, is there a reason why? Thanks for your info. Marie

-- Marie in Central WA (Mamafila@aol.com), March 09, 2002.


Marie, maple syrup can be made anywhere that hard maple trees grow, that the temperatures go below freezing and where there are the right conditions (freezing nights, days in the 40's or 50's) during the spring. I know that it is made as far south as Kentucky and Tennessee; it is made in the Virginias, in Utah, Illinois, Iowa..... Indiana is the smallest producer of the states that belong to the North American Maple Association and which have state associations. Most of it is made in the East but a lot of syrup is made in the Midwest; Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio especially.

Syrup can be made from any maple tree but for the characteristic maple flavor, sugar maple (Acer saccarum)and black maple (Acer nigrum) are what you want. Also, their sap is sweeter, thus cooking down to syrup quicker and producing lighter, more delicately flavored syrup. It will cook down 45 or 50 to 1 usually but soft maple will run nearer to 80 or even 100 to 1 (meaning 45 or 50 gallon of sap to 1 gallon of finished syrup). It takes about 30 years for a seedling tree to reach tapable size.

No syrup sold as pure maple syrup can, legally, contain ANY additive. All maple syrup is organic. Actually, because of the length of time needed to grow the tree, it's practiacall impossible to know if any non-organic thing has happened to the tree in it's lifetime but normally, this is taken from natural woods and chemical- type things are not done in natural woods. Charging more for so- called organic syrup (as is often done) is, to this old lady's mind, a rip-off because by the very nature of maple syrup production, and by the fact that it cannot have any additives, it is probably ALL as organic as any of it is. It is all just sap evaporated to 87 Brix, which is 11 pounds per gallon or to a liquid which will boil at 7 1/2 degrees above the boiling point on a barometer-adjusted thermometer.

I'm sitting here grinning and thinking that this is probably a whole lot more than you really wanted to know but if not, write me again here or directly and I'll jump back up on my soap box and expound some more.

By all means tap your trees if they're the right kind of maple. It's a bit of work but fun and a great thing to do with kids. Our operation started with 13 sugar maples in the front yard. It just got out of hand!!

-- Rosalie (Dee) in IN (deatline@globalsite.net), March 10, 2002.


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