Sugaring is officially here!

Cloverdale Sugarhouse

Last night sugaring officially arrived!  We fired up the evaporator at 3:00 in the afternoon and boiled off a small collection of about 1,000 gallons of sap.  This first processing is essentially the moment of truth for a sugarmaker.  There are many processes that must come together and function properly for maple syrup production to occur.  Last night we assembled the evaporator and threw the switch and everything kicked on without a hitch.  While we only produced a small amount of maple syrup we are now fully prepared to process when warmer weather brings on tankfulls of maple sap.  A fresh foot of new snow and steam pouring out of the cupola!  Sugaring is here!

All Tapped In!

Dave is saving up for pants!

It has been a busy couple of weeks since our last post!  We completed the check valve upgrade on 1/3 of our sugar bush and went right to tapping.  It took longer then normal this year as we have 3-4 feet of snow in the woods.  Tapping normally takes 4-5 days, but this spring it has taken up almost 10 days!  All is well and we are ready for spring thaws to wake up the maple trees.  We are making some final upgrades to parts of our tubing system and sugarhouse and closely watch the weather each day.  The extended forecast shows warm days towards the end of next week. Then the fun begins!

Snow Snow Snow and More Snow!

The white stuff just keeps piling up.  Last year we had almost no snow in the sugarbush going into sugaring.  For most of the spring there was bare ground and it was easy to get around.  This year is a stark contrast to last.  We continue to install check valve spout adapters and will likely be finished in another three days.  Progress is slow as we are on 36inch and 48inch snow shoes just to get around.  Without snowshoes you sink in up to your hips.  Some sap lines are beginning to be buried under the snowfall which seems to accumulate several inches a day.  While some snow is good for sugaring, it insulates the ground and hydrates the trees, too much can be detrimental.  If lines are buried they will not thaw.  If there is too much ground cover the trees will not thaw on the warm days of spring and will not run.  Hopefully the warmer weather forecast over the next few weeks will settle it down and melt it off some.  We plan to begin tapping this weekend.

Check-Valve Spouts

We are currently installing check valve spouts into approximately 1/3 of our sugarbush.  Manufactured by Leader Evaporator Company and created by Proctor Maple Research Center, the check valve spouts are touted to increase sap yield by preventing microbial contamination into the spout holes as sap is drawn back into the trees from the sap lines as they freeze.  Microbial contamination is credited as being a major factor as to why tap holes reduce yield as the season passes and ultimately stops the flow of sap. The stubby is installed into the drop lines and plug onto the spouts after they are hammered into the trees at tapping time.

C.V. Spout (Leader Photo)

Stubby Spout Adapter (Leader Photo)

We are installing these new spouts into 1/3 of our sugarbush to compare sap yields from these spouts to our own proprietary stainless steel spouts.  While the average syrup produced per tap in the state of Vermont is approximately 2.75 lbs we have produced over 7.3 lbs per tap for the last three years.  We believe that the trees are easily capable of producing 11 lbs (1 gallon) maple syrup per tap but that current industry collection techniques are imperfect and that this is the real limiting production factor.

Implementing check valves may give us a better understanding of the inefficiencies of the sap collection precess and allow for further improvement to increase this yield.

Pure Maple Candy Crystal Coat Dipping Process

Effective as of January 24th all of our pure maple candy will go through a pure maple crystal coat dipping process to improve the shelf life, protect against shipping damage and to "lock in" freshness so your candy will retain the fresh-out-of-the-mold taste and consistency for weeks longer than candy that is not coated.

Just like our pure maple candy, the crystal coat solution is also made only of pure maple syrup, with nothing added.  So the candy is just as pure and natural as before.

This special pure maple crystal coating process will extend the shelf life by 2-3 months and protect against heat and humidity often experienced with air mail and summertime shipping.

Candy is still made fresh to order everyday... ENJOY!




www.maple-sugar-candy.com