maple happenings at hhf ~ week 4

The sugaring season fatigue is wearing us down, but I’m happy to report that the sap is still running and we’re still making maple syrup. We somehow survived 6 nights without a freeze. Finally, it got into the lower 20s on Monday night and hit the reset button for us. We’re still collecting and boiling sap, but we’re not sure how many days the season will hold on. Tonight is forecasted above freezing again and the tree buds may burst soon. Once the trees bud, the sap is no longer suitable for maple syrup production.

The maple grade has moved from a Dark Robust to a Very Dark Strong and back again. We did everything in our control (cleaned pans, etc) to move to a lighter grade, but no such luck yet. We keep a sample from every day of the season so we can track the changes… its been an interesting season from that perspective. We’re always asked what determines the grade of syrup. There are a few factors - early vs late season, warm vs cold weather, mineral content of the sap, and cleanliness of the equipment. To be honest, its mostly out of our control and unpredictable.

We’re taking a closer look at the numbers while we watch the sap boil this week. Today will be our 11th consecutive day boiling in the sugarhouse. Did I mention we’re tired? In the last 7 days we’ve collected nearly 23,000 gallons of sap and made just over 258 gallons of maple syrup. That brings our grand total to 659 gallons of syrup in 2021 as of March 30th. The weather has been fickle and the sugar content of the sap has been lower than the 2% we like to see. That means instead of 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup… it might take 50, 60 gallons or more. The real workhorse around here has been our reverse osmosis machine. It removes water from the sugar molecules to created a concentrated sap. We try to concentrate somewhere between 10-20% sugar. It helps us use less firewood in the evaporator and saves us time spent ‘watching the pot boil’. Fortunately, this process doesn’t sacrifice any of that delicious wood-fired flavor.

Weekly Stats

OIBB2689[1].JPG — 2021 Maple tap count
2500

**First Boil - March 1, 2021**
**Starting March 20, 2021**
11 Consecutive Boiling Days
Dark Robust & Very Dark
**March 22, 2021 - 88 Gallons**
New HHF Record Daily Total!
**Maple Syrup Total as of 3/30**
659 Gallons
We made 258+ Gallons from 22,950 gallons of sap in the last week alone.

Last week, I talked a bit about the maple production process. This week, I’ll share a fun video. Maple Syrup is a passion for our family, as well as an important part of our small business. We are grateful that our talented friend, Kevin Perron (owner of Treefort Lifestyles), took some time to film/edit this fun video that gives you a glimpse into the woods as well as the evaporation process that results in our delicious liquid gold.

Visit our Youtube channel to View video

Although March 27th and 28th was the last official weekend of Maple Month, we WILL be OPEN at the sugarhouse on Saturday, April 3rd to celebrate the last weekend of the maple season. Please join us to celebrate spring! It’s been a pleasure showing everyone around our new sugarhouse shop and production area. Thank you for all your continued support as we pursue our passions.