Posted on 03/02/2020 11:56:55 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
That looks inefficient to me. Has anyone measured how much of the sugar gets thrown out with the unthawed ice?
Also, you do not need to raise sap to boiling point to evaporate it. It takes longer, but personally I avoid a rolling boil. This is even more important when you reach your higher sugar concentrations because you don’t want to risk carmelizing the syrup. But I do not know at what temperature ruins sap for bee digestion. Perhaps it’s not very high.
Letting the sap freeze is the way the native Indians used to make syrup in New England.
I used to make it all my former house. I used to tap 20 trees. Three of the trees were over 3’ in diameter. I would end up with about 4 gallons of syrup.
I would collect the sap in 5 gallon plastic jugs. That is about as much as I could lift when full. I would set these outside at night to let freeze. Then pour off the concentrated sap in the morning.
I got all of my materials from Bascom’s in Alstead, NH.
I used
Try Arnold Palmer 1 gallon ice tea containers. They are much thicker plastic. Plus they are clear.
I got all my other supplies from Bascom’s
Cider makers call eating apples "Water Bombs". On the other hand cider apples are not very nice to eat. So have a couple of each. Remember that some apple trees only produce every other year so select your variety carefully.
You will need a grinder and press to make cider but you can make the press fairly easily.
Yes, I do not have a press. I’ve looked into getting one in the past but the only apple trees I have on my property are growing wild, and they are probably terrible.
In point of fact, they’d probably work though, because all you really need is sugar water. But the result hard cider might be a little hard on the palette.
8. Making hard cider
As long as you’re harvesting apples & making hard cider...add making Apple cider vinegar to the list.
I can do all but the last 2. Can play anything and don’t like the neighbors or people in general.
21. Live close to an IGA or Food Lion.
That is carefully pruning them and the area around them over about a two to three year period to bring them back to full production.
And wild apples were what was used to make cider so they might be good.
We are working on clearing an old apple orchard and bringing it back to production. After two decades of neglect it is a major mess. We generally get about an acre and a half done a year. Bit by bit and little by little.
Years ago, a guy did his Alaska dream. Bought land and spent the Spring and Summer building his cabin and barns.
Come early Fall, a man came to his his place and said he was his neighbor, lived on the other side of the mountain. The man invited him to his annual Christmas party for December 25th.
The new guy said okay, what will it be like?
*Well, there's gonna be some drinking
*And maybe some fight'n
*And maybe some wild sex.
Oh? How many people are going to be there?
*Just you and me.
Used to play the oboe and guitar. Like my neighbors but they are all at least 1/8 mile away. I will say I am running into more friendly people in the last year than ever.
21. Generating heat and power.
22. Bartering
We looked at a couple houses in the Alstead area.
BEAUTIFUL part of the state.
Bttt.
5.56mm
Kapusta!
I haven’t heard that in lonnnng time. My Baltic immigrant grandmother made it good :)
I have 14 of those. I haven’t cleaned a chimney, or made butter or soap yet, but I know the theory. I have some fruit trees, but they pretty much take care of themselves, so I didn’t count that one.
The last two on that list I may never get to. I am not outgoing, and I’ve never been comfortable in social settings. I try, but it is not a skill I ever expect to develop. And while I would love to get back to learning the violin, it’s a low priority.
On the other hand, I’m learning to spin yarn and weave it into cloth. And I’m hoping to try growing my own fiber plants this year. I stumbled on a site that was selling heirloom cotton seeds and ordered a few, to grow along with the flax I’m trying out.
You’d think “Make and repair clothing” would be one of those essential skills.
I like that method!
If you have a lot of trees in close proximity, you could probably run the tubes right to the sugar shack.
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