Maple Tapping Part Two, Let's TAP This.

Supplies. Temp outside for flow needs to be above freezing during the day, below freezing (33 degrees F) at night. These are the days that sap flows. The warmer and sunnier the day, the faster the flow. We can sometimes get 3 full buckets from one tree in a day when it is 60 degrees in daylight and freezing overnight. Thank you Iowa! Flow starts today!

Read here for getting supplies ready.

This is the diameter of the trees nearest our home that are suitable for tapping.  If a tree has more than a 21" diameter, it will support 2 taps, which we've done in a few places.

These are the leaf buddings. When the tree buds out for real, the sap takes on a really, really bad taste, called bud taint. Sap will keep flowing, but you DO NOT want this sap to contaminate your syrup boil. It smells fine as sap too, but when boiled down is tastes like dead mouse smells. NOT KIDDING. So, trust me, pay attention to these buds as the tapping time goes along. We usually get about two weeks of flow.

The leaf buds are also the best way to identify maple species in winter time.  I'll do another post on that in the future.

 This is so easy, our nine year old can do it. Chad is helping though.  Drill the hole at a good height for you to reach, a few inches away from last years taps, and about 2-3 " deep.  Be sure to tilt up so the sap runs out.  Best place to drill is the south side of the tree under a big branch - south side warms up fastest, sap will be moving to the branch.

 This is a good bore hole.

This is the spile.

 Push it in with your fingers.

Hammer it. Lightly on the flat part, not the end of the spout.

 These hooks were put on by the folks who mailed them backwards from how I like them, so I had to take it out and re-orient the hook.  If using a bag you can leave the hook off entirely.

Perfect.

 Hang bucket, attach lid.

 Ta da!

 Or hang the bag. It doesn't need a lid (and is WAY cheaper!)

Bonus picture: this tree? Glorious maple that it is, it is a bad choice for tapping. First, part of it is rotten and actually smashed down and broke things. Second, ALL sap from it is tainted. Gross. Any of it will ruin the pot of syrup. The taint tastes like Ritz crackers with a chaser of spoiled Brussels sprouts.

Wandering

Not all those who wander are lost.

-J. R. R. Tolkien 

Indeed. This adventure has begun. My friends and family sent me off into the darkness of an Iowa winter night, on a double decker bus to Chicago. 

Arriving in Chicago. Mornings are gorgeous in the Windy City.

Union Station actually had 1000 crockpots cooking lasagna. I was also there for the morning wake up of the homeless off the benches. Homelessness is not as visible in Iowa as it is in Chicago or Memphis or Atlanta.

My friend Evonne met me and took me out to breakfast! Note to self: learn to make crepes.
Seriously though, Evonne smells like heaven. Why? Because she is a master of olfactory psychophysical phenomena.

Leaving Chicago late morning. The city seemed to be thawing out and waking up. I'd like  to visit again, walk around a bit. Not this trip though.

Folks getting on the bus were buzzing with anxiety that we'd be stranded in Memphis is the Atlanta route was cancelled. Atlanta was dealing with a major ice storm. 2 inches of ice, snow, and more ice.  Our bus drive, Dennis, reassured us and was so much fun! He greeted each of us as we boarded and said something nice to everyone, made sure no one got left behind, was entertaining, and reminded us to call our rides an hour before arriving.

 Still, we travelled on. This is what Illinois looked like the entire trip. Until.....St. Louis. Oh that glorious arch! The grand Mississippi!

 The sun set somewhere near Arkansas. By then the bus was packed full. It was a tight and uncomfortable seat. My window was stuck cracked open and the air was nice once I realized the fresh air helped my new affliction: motion sickness. Oy.

 Then we arrived in Memphis! The road thumped in 4/4 time and poetry immediately flooded my head. You know how some songs talk about the ghosts of Memphis? This. Everything, even the electrical lines buzz with a musical quality.

 My grand plan had been to skip lunch and get dinner someplace lovely in Memphis at out 2 hour layover. Nope. Drop off was in the middle of a warehouse district with a local booze store the only thing open. There was a Subway inside, so I made an attempt....closing in 5 minutes out of everything. Ugh. I bought a lime soda and then it was a bottle top and I could not open it.

There is more. Oh yes there is...but for now, just know that I survived the next two hours and got my soda opened. Also, pro tip? A bottle cap can be opened with any lighter. ANY. LIGHTER. No worries. I will share that story later.

 Freaking tired. At this point, loaded up, headed to Atlanta by way of Birmingham, AL, I was done with being on a bus. Too bad for me, I had eight hours to go. Eight. Hours. I was sticky, hungry, a little jacked up with adrenaline from surviving the two hours in Tennessee. Sticky. Also, riding a bus with 30 people does not smell lovely.

Still, I fell asleep, twice I think. There was a bus evacuation around 2 am. For fuelling? I don't know. I was a zombie.

I was so grateful to wake up to a Georgia sunrise. Oh my sweet Georgia!

 Only the view I caught was startling. I saw a boot sticking out of this gully. Then I realised it was full of people. Sleeping people. By the time I got my camera out, there was not a good picture, but on reflection, I would not share that picture anyway. These were PEOPLE. Real people sleeping in an ice filled gully along the highway. People. Like you or me.

Then this view emerged. Then for a moment I thought I was delusional. This looks like IOWA. DES MOINES? NO. NO.

Then we pulled in by the Civic Center and a row of housing THAT LOOKS JUST LIKE THE ONE IN DES MOINES. PANIC. SLEEP DEPRIVED PANIC.

No worries. FEET ON THE GROUND IN ATLANTA.

 The very icy ice covered ground.

See? LOOKS LIKE DES MOINES. It isn't though. It is way better for an architecture nerd like me.

PS, I miss my babies back in Iowa so, so much. My chest hurts when I think about it.

 

Tap Tap Tap Tap! Maple Tapping Getting the Equipment Ready

Locate and wash all the parts. We have managed to lose parts every year.

Charge cordless drill.

These are spiles. You can use these with food grade buckets or with the sap bags. We are useing some of both this year to test the bags - they are a lot cheaper.  

These are the bag holders.

Slide the bag on and fold over.

Open it and smooth.

Slide the top part over.

Chad weight tested it because I was unsure the bag would hold.

Position the spile. This pic is just so you know how it works - the bag holder will hang off of the ridge on the top of the spile. You keep it off until after the tap is in the tree. Here is an inside shot. Stay tuned for part two. I am blogging from my phone on a cross country bus!

Here is part two!

No Peach for the Wicked.....A Wicked Simple Peach Pie

First you need in season peaches. There is no comparison to grocery store peaches or frozen grocery store peaches. In my world those are not really peaches. Pretend such things do not exist and the world will be a better place.

I can fresh Missouri peaches in July and August at the peak of their peachy juicy yumminess. These peaches, canned in sparkling jars will do. Sigh, in a pinch glass jar peaches from the grocery store will work but only the glass jar ones. Think I am being snobby? These are peaches we are talking about.

Once upon a time I did not understand the glory of peaches. I just thought they were.... meh. One sunny morning Chad and I set off in newly wedded bliss to the farmer's market. It was a hot July morning in Iowa, crowds send me in a panic, but Chad was on a mission. I said peaches were no big deal. He had to prove me wrong. 

Oh. He handed me the most perfect round globe of deliciousness, bite already out of one side because he had to taste test it to make sure it was perfectly ripe. The sweet-sour juices ran down my cheeks as I gobbled it. It was like eating sunshine. I wanted more. We ordered peach trees for our city garden. Not the 36 peach trees I wanted as I calculated exactly how many trees would fit in our urban lot. I no longer wanted spinach or tomatoes.....just peaches. Forever peaches.

I do now have my 36 peach trees and room for more. Mmmmmm...peaches.

Peach pie, however, eluded my grasp. It never turned out just right! How unfair!

Then I realised that most peach pie recipes work with inferior peaches. Just like with everything in my kitchen, scaling back was going to be the key, working with the best ingredients and highlighting the pure flavours instead of hiding them in spices. 

So you need peaches. About 4 for a typical pie. More if they are small. This equals 1 quart of canned peaches at my house.

RECIPE FOR FILLING:

4 large ripe and sliced peaches
1/4 cup of raw sugar.
Lemon juice (one lemon's worth or 1.5 T)
a pinch of sea salt
a teaspoon of almond extract
4 T of cornstarch

Pie dough recipe at the end of this post.

Put filling in pie tin lined with crust dough. Top with dough in whatever design you choose, just not a solid sheet. The peach filling needs lots of venting. That's a pro tip. Brush with milk or melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.

350 degrees, middle rack. Bake until browned (about 45 minutes).

Sometimes I get fancy and add vanilla bean salt to the top with the sugar, but just because.

That is the filling. You could add some cinnamon, ginger, or allspice, but it isn't needed. The bright flavour of the peaches stand on their own.

This is the pie crust recipe here.

2 cups of flour
1 stick of butter, frozen
4 T of fresh farm rendered lard, frozen
1 T of raw sugar
1 T of salt

Cut by hand or food processor and then add 1/4 of ice water or buttermilk until doughy. Then roll out and work fast.

That's it. Really.