This year we decided to try our hand at tapping the maple trees on our property so that we could make our own maple syrup. Last fall, just before the leaves fell from the trees on our wooded lot, we marked trees that we had identified as maple trees. After a long hard winter, as the overnight temperatures dipped below 30 degrees and the daytime temperatures climbed above this mark, we tapped the trees so that a clear syrupy liquid (sap) would flow down the trunk of the trees into our collection buckets. We were surprised to find that this process was really quite quick and our buckets were filled within the first couple of hours. Next, we boiled down the syrup until it was golden and met the temperature standard for just the right consistency.
This morning, I made a batch of Oat and Maple Muffins using our very own, utterly delicious maple syrup. I’m so happy we decided to try the maple syrup making process and I look forward to doing it again next year!
Oat and Maple Muffins
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup real maple syrup
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin cups or use paper muffin liners. In a large bowl, mix together oil and brown sugar. Beat in maple syrup, egg, milk and vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir flour mixture into egg mixture just long enough to incorporate. Fold in chopped walnuts. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes. Remove from pans and place on a wire rack to cool before serving.
Yummy! These look delicious.
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Thanks so much… They do taste delicious! Crunchy top and tender middle!😊
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Congrats on your own syrup. How fun!
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Well, thank you! I’m pleased as punch to have our own supply! Thanks for stopping by…😊
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How very cool that you made your own syrup too!
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Thanks so much… Yep, I think it’s pretty cool too! I hope we can continue to do this for many years.😊
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I’m so jealous! I really want Maple trees to tap… Maybe someday. For now, though, I will settle with store bought. I can’t wait to try these muffins out!
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It took us a long time to finally decide to tap our trees. You can do it even if you only have one or two mature maple trees. Best of luck to you and thanks for stopping by!😊
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Wow, you have your very own maple syrup. How great is that! 🙂
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Pretty cool! We just finished making our final batch for the season…
Thanks for your valued comment!😊
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Wow, interesting!
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It’s time consuming but quite rewarding as the syrup is delicious!😊
Have a great day!🌺
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How cool is that!! So awesome, making your own maple syrup! These muffins look great!
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Thanks so much for your supportive comment. We are so pleased to have been successful during this first year of syrup making. Have a great day!
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Looks amazing
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Thanks so much! Have a great day!😊
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It’s time consuming but quite rewarding as the syrup is delicious!😊
Have a great day!🌺
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Yum!
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Yep, they are delicious!😊
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We spend a lot of money buying pure maple syrup and would love to make our own someday. How many trees did you tap and how much did they yield? How many jars of syrup did you end up with? What a treat to have your own trees and now your very own maple syrup!
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While we certainly could have tapped as many as 30-40 trees, we had read several books that instructed beginners to start small. We decided to tap only 7 trees. The result, 4-8 oz canning jars of golden maple syrup from maybe 25 gallons of sap.
I have to admit that we only collected sap a few times as we had to leave for Spring Break vacation and could not collect during our time away.
I hope this helps! Happy sugaring!
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Thank you so much for the information. It truly rationalizes the high prices at the supermarket for pure maple syrup. Something to put on our bucket list for sure.
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Good luck to you!😊
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Hi:
Our trees yield up to a gallon of sap or more per tap each day. The flow varies with weather.
We tapped 5 trees with 7 taps, collected about 60-70 gallons of sap over three weeks, and produced around a gallon-and-a-half of syrup.
Paz
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Awesome! This was our first year and we had to leave for vacation during the course of optimal weather. We will plan differently next year. Happy that we tried the process and look forward to continuing the tradition on a small scale.
I enjoyed your comments, that’s for sharing. We have lots to learn.😊
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It sounds like a lot of work, but the rewards make it worth it. I’ve put it on my bucket list, so hopefully one day…
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All the best to you!😊
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wow.. i know the feeling when everything is homemade 🙂
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It’s a good feeling, isn’t it?😊
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absolutely!
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They look delicious! I’m trying these today. 😊
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Awesome! Let me know how they turn out for you!😊
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Our syrup had quite a bit of sediment in the bottom, once settled.
How about yours?
We strained it at every opportunity through cheesecloth & cotton.
Maple producers recommend a felt filter.
Paz
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We ended up filtering it twice…
Once when we took the sap from the tree and once more at the end of processing. We used cheesecloth. This seemed to take care of the sediment for us.
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What an awesome idea! And I had no idea getting that much maple syrup (sap) was so quick either 🙂
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It was certainly an eye opening experience for us. Loved the whole process and we will certainly do this again!😊
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Wow, I bet the maple syrup is amazing! How cool! The muffins looks delicious!
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Yep, the maple syrup is pretty amazing! Can’t wait to do this again next year…
Enjoy your day!☀️
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These look amazing! Can’t wait to try the recipe!
Also…..thanks for visiting my blog! It’s always nice to have visitors!
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My pleasure! Keep up the good work and have a great day!
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I have always wanted to try this! It’s so great that you just dug in and did it! 🙂
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My husband was the driving force for this project. In fact,he should be given total credit for the effort! He’s a good guy and had wanted to try this for a long time.
Thanks for your valued comment! Have a great day.
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