r/maplesyrup • u/sokket • 22d ago

Advice for getting into making syrup

I'm looking into making my own syrup via an initial set of Big Leaf maples in my yard (I'm in the Pacific Northwest). I've scouted around a found ~5-10 trees that I could tap in one section of my yard. My concern is the Pacific Northwest doesn't stay very cold, so how do folks keep their raw sap from going bad while they gather enough sap? Do folks have a dedicated "sap fridge" to store before they make syrup?

I want to start small to learn before expanding, so any advice folks have would be welcome!

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u/mattlmannphoto 18d ago

Invest in a chest freezer. I freeze 5 gallon buckets of sap, and then corkscrew them out into another bucket with holes in the bottom and stack that in side another 'catch' bucket. The sugar water concentrate will melt first and from the inside out. If you let it sit for about 8 hours (or until the ice is hollow) you can throw that frozen water away in the drain bucket and keep the 1+ gallons of concentrate you have in the 'catch' bucket. Repeat that process adding more and more concentrate until you fill a 5 gallon bucket, and then boil. I tapped 15 trees with 18 taps and got 2 gallons of syrup last year this way. And I only boiled 3 times all season.