Rivers Edge Maple

Video of the making of the very dark grade of maple syrup.

Finishing up the 2021 maple syrup season. We had a less than stellar year, production was about 65% of a typical year. The sugar content of the sap was lower than normal, it took around 47 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup. Typical season is around 40 to 1. We're pulling out the taps next week. Clean up is the agenda for a few days after that. Our syrup is available for sale at Jackson's General Store in Windsor, NY. We are also offering maple coffee and maple ...tea at their store. Their grand opening is this weekend. Lower production means less syrup available. Get it now before it's gone until next season.

Today was the hardest day I can remember trying to boil sap. The weather was changing often. I couldn't get the sap to 7 degrees above boiling point for the longest time. At one time the boiling point of water was 208.6.,. At 10:30 this morning boiling point was 210.8. I adjusted the thermometer to compensate for the weather. The sap is getting"thin". The sugar content is almost to the point that it isn't cost effective to continue. Thankfully I have a reverse osmosis set-up so I can get the sugar level at a reasonable level to continue. This coming week will probably be the end of the season. We are at about 40% production compared to a typical season.

Treated to modified surf and turf for supper in the sugar shack. 3.5 gallons syrup made since noon today. Keep going a few more hours.

Here's a 6 minute video of the maple syrup boiling process from today. Enjoy

The rule of thumb is to tap trees around Valentine's day. We have followed this for over 30 years. However, this year we are going to tap trees based on the weather, rather than the calendar. I believe in climate change and over the past few years other maple producers have tapped in late December and in January. ... We might start tapping in a couple weeks. Stay tuned.

So I'm thinkin' we are going to have a good maple season this year. This snow storm dropped 27" so far. Deep snow insulates the roots of the maple trees and melts slowly. Often this extends the maple season. This is my sugar shack this morning. We are expecting snow fall for a few more hours.

Maple syrup season is right around the corner. We are about 90% ready to go. I was not able to make surup the past 2 years due to health problems. God willing we are looking forward to a great season. Our prices will be similar to 2 years ago. We might raise them slightly.... We'll keep you posted on when we tap and start production. Stay tuned.

I found this newspaper article from April 1984. This was one of the many occupations I had in my youth. I was live trapping a skunk on the westside of Binghamton. I didn't get sprayed this time; only got sprayed once and that was my own fault. Making maple syrup is alot easier....

Todays maple lesson: Fall maple producers open house. With the covid 19 crisis resulting in the cancellation of many maple festivals this past March and April, several states have joined together to organize "Fall in LOVE with Maple:North American Maple Tour." The event will be held October 9-19 and will feature sugarhouse open houses and tours in at least five states. Currently Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maine, Vermont, and New York are participating. Rivers Edge Maple will... not be able to participate this year. The event website is at https//fallmapletour.com/ Click on ther state you would like to visit to see who is participating. For New York click the "plan your trip" button. The participants have a leaf on the map. Other states have a similar link. Organizers intend for this to become an annual event. Consider attending, and check out the Fall foliage at the same time.