A Crummy Commercial

Last year I put up a post on April 15th on the maple season: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2025/04/2025-maple-report.html So I thought I'd do the same this year.  Only processed 70 boils this year, resulting in 18 pints of syrup.  The new mass measurement method is working pretty well although I still get a flip out of the bimetallic breaker at times.  2026 was disappointing though, the season started maybe a week earlier in February but I did 14 fewer boils and have 6 fewer pints of syrup.  There was a cold spell and a blizzard which affected sap collection.  But I now have 51 gallons of distilled water (sap) to consume which should last me into July. So now it's time to pull the taps and start washing everything out.  And get on with other spring tasks. the syrup from the last boil just fit into a 4 oz jelly canning jar Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm  

The current maple sap boiling setup/results was mentioned previously: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2026/03/maple-syrup-update.html I still would like to improve the process if possible at reasonable expense.   The internet (and the real world, too) is an easier place when you get to know the specialized vocabulary of an area of interest.  In the case of measuring the mass of distilled water the term I needed is: check weigher.  A check weigher is a scale with a light or alarm when the item being weighed (massed) is either too heavy, too light or just right. This is what I need for monitoring the distilled water output of the still while boiling the maple sap down to maple syrup.  Here are some examples from McMaster-Carr and Ebay: love the stop light type design $847.06 (plus shipping and tax):  https://www.mcmaster.com/products/check-weighers/go-no-go-digital-display-bench-top-scales~~/ $188.85 (but Fedex):  https://www.ebay.com/itm/305239215849 $153.7...

This video popped up on my feed: source:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-n4pkaxKNLc Luc Lagace, the "lab guy" at Centre ACER, doesn't say how they can tell it's 50% cane sugar but I suspect it is done by using the quantity of carbon 13 in the syrup. A longer form video from Radio Canada is here (unless you can "parlez-vous" turn on the closed captions and autotranslate to English): source:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9BzYm4yzg8 C3 versus C4 photosynthesis was mentioned previously but for fake honey: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2025/07/this-isnt-honey.html   I'm not able to taste a difference between cane sugar versus maple sugar but I suspect, as with the honey, that the adulterated syrup is cheaper.  The bulging can shown is probably just fermentation, old Steve was a little careless with cleanliness or temperature ?  That's why I pressure can my maple syrup - it shouldn't ferment although I do get cloudiness (which settles out) and...

The new stand is working well - it was mentioned here: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2026/03/new-perch.html Then a couple things happened.  First there was the snow storm so I wasn't able to get any sap to boil.  The second was that I realized something.  I hadn't checked the calibration on the refractometer in a long time.  So I put a little distilled water (sap) on the slide and zeroed the reading. there is an adjustment screw under the round black cap above: ATC I was able to restart the boils after the ski experiment: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2026/03/red-ski-is-for-right-foot.html The last few boil results have been good (ideal brix is 66.7): boil    brix    evaporation in grams (roughly 1 percent) ----    ----    ----  29     66.5     44  30     67       47  31     67       46  32     65...

wood skis with bamboo poles !   Yes, they are two different cross country skis (wooden and from Finland, yet !) but they are the only ones I have with the old fashioned ankle-breaker bindings.  The skis I had as a kid had bindings kinda like these.  If you get them adjusted just right the ski will come off if you fall rather than mess up a leg.   The more modern cross country skis require what I think of as clown shoes with an extended sole in front.  There's a clamp on the ski that holds this extended sole down in front while letting the skier raise their heel in back - these aren't like the click in bindings and boots of downhill skis. I had dug a path through the snow to the storage building where I keep the skis so I thought I'd try getting out the skis to check on the maple sap.  I haven't been out to the trees for a week and a day.  Here's my path out there: Actually the snow drifts were highest by the house.  There were some bare patches by...

Continuing with the maple sap / syrup saga: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2026/03/dialing-it-in-part-ii.html I did start using the Ozeri scale to measure the input mass of the sap AND the output mass of the syrup.  Also I tried to account for some condensation drops inside the top of the still.  So the amount of loss to evaporation seems to be roughly 40 grams of a 4000 gram sap input or 1 percent.  The longer the boil the more the evaporation loss. In addition, instead of measuring the output volume of distilled water I'm now measuring the output mass near the end of the boil rather than when the boil was finished.  This lets me make a better decision on when to stop the boil.  I just happened to have this shelf on my bench to support a power supply.  It is the perfect height to boost the still above the Rubbermaid pitcher. Because the scale turns itself off after 2 or 5 minutes I have to wait until near the end of the boil.  Then boost up the pitcher, ...

I've mentioned this before: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2024/02/dialing-it-in.html Recently I was watching this video by Big Clive: source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGho4TCdtj8 which is quite interesting - this kind of accurate scale used to be REALLY expensive - fancy instrumentation op-amps and calibration.  But now anyone can get these scales (even with the tariff-tax) at reasonable prices.  The cool kids use them for measuring flour for baking - more accurate than dipping a measuring cup. But it occurred to me that I could use a digital scale to measure maple syrup with the result of a more consistent starting point for a boil.  I checked the scale I have: And it can handle 6000 grams maximum which should be more than enough for 4 liters of sap plus a container.  One problem:  I don't have a good container for 4 liters - 4 quarts is no problem but since 4 liters is 7.2 oz. larger, the Rubbermaid pitcher is just a little too small.  I will look at...

Above is a picture of "the Mangler" along with two other needle nose pliers I found in the house.  Last mentioned "the Mangler" here: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2026/02/enough-is-enough.html The two "new" ones have springs but not sure that will prevent mangling.  But the jaws on both blue handled pliers are serated so that may improve the grip over "the Mangler".  I'll put "the Mangler" away and start using the new pliers - if they aren't any better I'll have to go completely nuts and buy decent ones :) I also found this in the pantry: It is the last jar of maple syrup from 2025.  So I will crack it open and start using it before the 2026 vintage. Finally the VFW now sends four nickels in their solicitations - I'm not quite sure why they do that - certainly doesn't inspire confidence that any contributions will be spent wisely.  I guess that's the treadmill all advertisers are on, once they start displaying the...

I haven't gotten any sap for the last week, it had turned cold - really need that pothole weather where there's a freeze at night but then a sunny thaw during the day for any sap to flow. Finally got the thaw today courtesy of the sunshine and a strong wind out of the south.  So I drilled the last three trees in the morning and got some sap in the afternoon - only a little over 1/2 gallon but certainly better than nothing.  I will check the sap again about sundown. But the Green Bay weather people say it's only a single day thaw.   March will be coming in like a stick-to-your-tongue popsicle.  No sap for you, Chuck ! Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm  

I have started drilling the maples: This is actually two trees right next to each other And yesterday the accumulated sap was over 4 liters so time to start boiling.  Unfortunately the result was well below a brix of 58 - IOW watery.  I must have made a mistake in the reading of the initial sugar concentration which appeared to be 2.6%.  Also, there was an extended power outage this morning of over 20 minutes so that may have messed my calculations up. Anyway, it is done and brown and fragrant.  It will require a finish boiling down later. Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm  

It was such a nice day that I took a walk out to the woods even though the snow is over my boot tops in some places.  And the widowmaker is still up there. There are two little trees holding it almost level so I guess it's going to take some trunk rot before it finally comes down. not seeing too much rot so far, being off the ground hurts   I'm still debating whether to start drilling the maple trees, this would be kinda early but OTOH it's a shame to miss a "run" of sap.  It's been hard freezes at night but sunny and warm during the day - that's the recipe for both pot holes and maple sap.  I did see some budding pot holes on Thursday, evidence of freeze-thaw.  Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm  

It didn't really turn out that well: I still had 4 quarts of canned maple sap that I never drank (was going to use it for iced tea or lemonade or ?) so the decision was made to do a final boil to maple syrup.  Except that I forgot to measure the sugar concentration before starting.  So I stopped too early and got maybe twice the volume (7 oz) that I should have. It's sweet and will work OK to sweeten coffee or tea but a little too watery for pancakes. Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm 

A really interesting video: source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKvNp0fAaZ8  It's interesting that the C4 photosynthesis plants seem to have more of the carbon-13 atom than the normal carbon-12.  Also, the price of the various honey samples wasn't mentioned, that might have been another clue to which sample was adulterated. A page about the two types of photosynthesis and honey adulteration: https://www.bharathoney.com/bharat-honey-blog/c3-and-c4-sugar-adulterants-in-honey/  I remember during the 1960s we had a bottle of Karo syrup in the kitchen - not sure why, must have been called for in an unpopular recipe in our house ? This makes me wonder if there are any ways to check for adulterated maple syrup.  I also wonder if there is a van labeled: "Mystery Machine" in Alex's driveway :) https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/GettyImages-85858274-scaled-e1655637775229.jpg  Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm 

Results were similar to last year: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2024/04/77-sunset-strip.html BTW, the canned maple sap came in handy -  the trees have gone dry but the last boil today was about 8 oz short of my normal boil volume so I cracked a quart of sap open - still have about 24 oz of sugar water (sap) from that quart in the fridge. Results: 14 trees tapped, over 24 pints of canned syrup from 84 boils or 336 liters of sap and 66 gallons of distilled water left to drink. I didn't really dial in the process, it's still kinda by guess and by gosh.  I didn't work on the sugar bush although the ice storm may have done something on that score, affecting the maples less than the surrounding birches and beeches.  I tried to standardize the volume of the input sap but didn't make any progress on easy, accurate liquid volume measurement. There are other large maples on the property, I may try shifting taps away from less productive trees to try some new trees next year. It...

40 boils into the 2025 maple season, roughly halfway and I'm starting to run out of fridge space.  So I thought I'd do a little shelf stability conversion (2 canning loads): I use a Mirro pressure cooker to can stuff.  The four quart jars in the back are maple sap.  Later (say July) I can get them down from the pantry shelf and make some kind of a cold drink and the sweetening is already in the water !  The seven jars in the front are the maple syrup.  Since this isn't for trade I just can it as is without doing a finish boil - the actual sugar concentration may be over or under the recommended 67 or so percent sugar.  The two jars with the black lids (with the holes) are old salsa jars.  I always do them in case someone wants a jar I don't have to worry about losing a "good" canning jar.  The hole lets the air in for that satisfying pop due to the vacuum that occurs when whatever water vapor inside the jar condenses.   The cooker holds only ...

I've been getting decent  amounts of maple sap, thanks to the weather.  But in the first three boils I've had widely varying results: boil 1: resulting maple syrup was between 32 and 58 brix (brown and sweet but not really syrup boil 2: syrup was slightly overboiled, brix of 68 (should be more like 66) but close enough boil 3: syrup was like honey, brix of 80 (couldn't get a good reading), the still breaker flipped off I just don't have control of my process - in other words: I've lost the recipe.  The sap varies in sugar concentration but I usually boil the same amount at roughly the same starting temperature (refrigerator).     The easy strategy is to underboil and finish the syrup later - but it would be nice to just have a finished product each time without the extra step. Another strategy would be to dilute the sap to start at the same sugar content each time:  same volume, same temperature, same sugar concentration => same boil time and same r...

Here is a fuzzy picture of the results of the first boil: It's not syrup yet but it is brown, sweet (and a little cloudy).  I'll go and get some eggs at Mann's so there will be pancakes for lunch. The sap was 1.5% sugar so pretty low concentration.  I'm hoping for something higher today, there was a nice frost last night and it's sunny now. Update, evening: had pancakes for supper with blueberries and the "almost syrup".  One dozen extra large eggs were $8.29 at Mann's !  Got a lot of sap today - pothole (freeze/thaw) weather is what powers the sap production.   Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm

I did start drilling the maple trees today for sap.  8 trees on the western side of the property.  However I forgot the camera so no pics.   It was a nice sunny day in February up to 50F ! Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm

No, 77 total boils for the 2024 maple syrup season.  Each boil started with 4 liters of sap so 308 liters.  That's a little over 81 gallons processed, resulting in over 20 pints of syrup.  The final boil resulted in about 5 oz. of 66% syrup, almost perfect. For next season I might do some tree work to enhance the "sugar bush" - maybe cut down some of the trees around the maples, many of the surrounding trees are diseased beech anyway. Also, want to nail down the distilling process, dial it in for both the input quantity of sap and the output measurement of the distilled water.  At the end of this year I was able to avoid the dreaded flip-offs while still getting syrup close to the ideal of 67%. It is harder than I first thought to measure the sap accurately or maybe more importantly, measure it consistently.  I was considering a graduated pitcher or graduated cylinder but a more accurate/repeatable way might be to use a vinegar jug or Erlenmeyer flask - somethin...

For the last couple of days very little maple sap has been collected.  I still have over 3 gallons refrigerated but at a rate of over 2 gallons a day it won't be long until I run out of sap. Also the sap has been getting cloudier which seems to result in darker syrup. But the weather may change, recently the desired freeze / thaw cycle hasn't been happening.  In addition, very little rain or snow recently.  Last year the season went well into April: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2023/04/notes-on-2023-maple-syrup-season.html The effort to monitor the distilled water output to gauge the syrup sugar percentage has been kinda hit and miss.  I have tried to standardize the sap input and check the water output but the breaker flip offs are very inconsistent.  Here is some recent boil data:   I'll keep going but probably getting close to the end ? BTW I first heard the word: penultimate from listening to Bucks play-by-play announcer, Eddie Doucette - Eddie was proba...