Colby usually is doing his beer/brewery reviews, but I saw this on his Facebook, and thought it was cool. Fun story.
This morning at the cafe I edit at, the woman next to me pulled out a brush and brushed her hair. Later she blessed me after I sneezed, so we’re on good terms again.
A few days ago I boiled down the sap I collected and made maple syrup for the first time. I brought a book and my radio thinking I’d have time to sit by the evaporator and lazily tend the fire. Even though the process took most of the day, from nine in the morning til three in the afternoon, somehow I was constantly on the verge of catastrophe the whole time. For instance, the snow under the front of the evaporator started melting while the snow in the back stayed frozen, so the whole sizzling hot contraption with boiling sap starting tilting forward. Further and further forward.{{more}
With all the stuff I carried down to do this, I forgot my finishing pot where you boil the last bit of sap right before it reaches 7 degrees above the boiling temp of water, essentially becoming syrup.
My candy thermometer showed me the boiling temperature of water was 208, though in my instructional books I brought with me everyone said it was 212.
But it worked and I made about 16 Oz of syrup from 5 gallons of sap.
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Colby Thompson currently lives in Keene New Hampshire.
Colby Thompson is a wannabee Vermonter, living in Keene New
Hampshire. His days are taken up building his tiny house on wheels with his partner, Aria, or working on clients videos for his wedding film business.
Colby traveled around the country twice in his 1975 VW bus and is looking forward to his next chapter homesteading on his land in southern Vermont. He likes beer, cheese and cheap wine.
Check out the Road Tripping Photo Bus!
