If you only read one article on making maple syrup, read this one. I promise everything you need to know is contained in the included content.
I am very excited to be sharing "Tap My Trees" with our readers!
If you are not already making your own maple syrup at home or with your classroom you are really, really missing out.
A few years ago I stumbled onto the whole maple syrup making at home thing and gave it a shot. Like any other endeavor, I spent hours upon hours researching products, looking for one that I could afford from a reputable site. I quickly found myself overwhelmed but before giving up, I grabbed my cordless drill, a short length of 1/2" pvc, a utility hook, and a plastic bucket. As luck would have it, I struck gold (well not exactly... but I had collected a lot of maple sap in a very short amount of time). I will never forget running in to the house to grab Emily and the kids and dragging them outside to witness the very first sign of Spring! We were going to be making the most delicious PURE maple syrup ever.
Here is what I quickly learned:
- Collecting sap and making maple syrup is addicting.
- Collecting sap and making maple syrup is contagious.
- You will find yourself spotting out potential maple trees to tap at your family, neighbors and friends house all year.
- "Sugaring" is the proper terminology.
- The sugaring season is WAY TOO SHORT!
- Everything in one site www.tapymytrees.com
But most importantly:
- EVERY DROP OF SAP COUNTS.
Every single drop of sap counts. What is lost to overflow or not making it into the bucket, does not result in syrup.
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Everything you need to know about making maple syrup is included in this simple to understand book, included in the kits available only from www.tapmytrees.com.
*Remember Joe put together this kit with educating children in mind. |
Tap My Trees LLC. is not only a company providing amazing and affordable kits at a reasonable cost, they are very dedicated in educating those who are interesting in the maple syrup making process. Their owner Joe McHale was kind enough to send us one of the Maple Sugaring Starter Kits to review and will also be donating a Maple Sugaring Starter Kit for a Give-away in the VERY near future.
Here is what is included in the "Starter Kit"
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| Unboxing the Maple Sugaring Starter Kit. |
Everything comes conveniently packaged in one box and is individually wrapped.
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| Everything needed to collect sap is included, except for a cordless drill and a tree! |
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| 3 - Aluminum (2 gallon) buckets are included in this kit. |
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| 3 - Metal lids are included, which help to prevent rain, snow, and debris from falling in to the buckets while collecting sap. |
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| Everything is excellent quality, or as I like to call it, "heirloom quality." |
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| The beautiful stainless steel spiles included in this kit will outlast my kids, kids. |
The quality of this kit is truly amazing and much better than I had expected. This kit is it. Im done. No more messing around with plastic buckets, pvc pipe, or utility hooks. At the end of the season I will wash these components out and put them up in the rafters of the garage anxiously awaiting the next sugaring season.
Lets face the facts. If something is difficult to do, we are quickly robbed of a potentially great experience. Children have short attention spans and are not going to wait while you figure out how to efficiently collect sap. Trust me. The maple sugaring season doesn't last forever unfortunately but the experience surely will. My family is greatly appreciative to now be able to throw on our coats, grab this kit, go outside and start collecting sap. While the buckets begin to fill with the sugary goodness, we will sit down and again read Joe's book about sugaring in anticipation for what should be the most enjoyable maple syrup season yet!
A couple of noteworthy mentions:
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| Tap My Trees stainless steel maple sugaring funnel |
I was unable to find this through the website and will update this as it becomes available. This is not a "needed" item due to the fact the kit includes cheesecloth. I was fortunate enough to find this at our local Farm and Fleet store in the "Tap My Trees section" and can tell you for the $8.00 it cost me, it will be well worth it. This funnel or the cheesecloth is used to filter out any bark or debris that makes its way past the lid and into your sap before you boil it.
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| Tap My Trees syrup bottles or small canning jars. |
Don't forget a few glass jars (or more) to store your maple syrup in. Jars of pure maple syrup your family has made also make great gifts for friends and family.
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| Photo Credit: Tap My Trees site. The Teachers Kit |
Classroom teachers or homeschool parents: Our kids get really excited about this lesson every year! Joe offers a kit just for you which will include a lesson plan that is adaptable all the way up to high school.
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Preparation:
- Identify your maple trees
- Obtain the equipment needed to tap trees
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Tapping Trees:
- When to tap maple trees
- Select maple trees to tap
- Clean equipment
- Gather equipment
- Tap the tree
- Hang the bucket and attach lid
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Collect Sap and
Make Syrup:
- Transfer sap from buckets to storage containers
- Storing your sap
- Process sap into maple syrup and other uses
- When to stop collecting saps
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Cleanup:
- Remove spiles (taps), buckets, and lids from trees
- Clean equipment
- Store equipment for next year
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Photo Credit: Tapmytrees.com
I found this handy little time line on the Tap My Trees website.
I'm out of space for now, but Im going to call this my part one of this article. At the current time of this writing, we are almost but not quite into maple sugaring season as the daytime temperatures are still way below freezing. In part two I am going to show you how simple the sap collecting process is. I think you will be amazed.
But DO NOT WAIT FOR ME! The maple sugaring season varies from state to state and only lasts for a short period of time as I have previously mentioned. Here is the information so you can order your own kit and supplies: |
www.TapMyTrees.com
All orders include a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee for one full year from date of purchase.
Email:
info@tapmytrees.comMail: Tap My Trees LLC, 268 Simpaug Turnpike Suite 125, Redding, CT 06896
Toll Free Telephone: (888) 990-9948
Fax: (888) 666-9120
Cheers! ~ Kevin
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