Idaho Maple Syrup, and Apple Cider Syrup

It's getting close to that time of year when the maple sap starts flowing, and I can't wait for that first taste of crystal clear concentrated sunshine.  I've just started putting up posters around town for my newest idea:  the Palouse Maple Syrup Cooperative.  Here's the advertisement to explain what I'm trying to do.....   Also Check out my new Making Maple Syrup in Northern Idaho Page (right hand menu bar) to get the whole story behind the inspiration for this project.

INTERESTED IN MAPLE SYRUP?

DO YOU HAVE MAPLE TREES THAT ARE OF TAP-ABLE SIZE?

JOIN THE PALOUSE MAPLE SYRUP COOPERATIVE!

If you have Silver, Red, or Sugar Maples or Box Elders on your property that are over 10 inches in diameter you can receive 20% off on all maple syrup and maple candy if you allow your trees to be tapped.

Greg Hodapp, experienced maple syruper from Wisconsin will do all the work for this labor intensive process-  tapping, collecting, filtering and boiling down the sap.  You will receive the benefit of healthy, delicious and locally made maple syrup.  You will also receive 10% off of on local apple cider syrup/ maple syrup blends, and maple syrup chocolates.

Etcetera....  I'm hoping that this whole idea will start catching on.  It truly is a labor intensive process so it really is a good deal for people without enough trees to make tapping worth their while, or for folks who just don't have the time.  

APPLE CIDER SYRUP WITH CINNAMON

I'm especially excited about blending the apple cider cinnamon syrup I made this past fall from local wild apples with my local maple syrup.  I tried it out last fall and the flavor was out of this world delicious.  Making apple cider syrup is really simple.  You just need a boiling set up with a wide shallow pan to increase the capacity for evaporation, a candy thermometer, a big pot for storage and a siphon to run the cider into the boiling pan.  I have a stand alone double burner propane camp stove and a 20 gallon, wide stainless steel pan from an old steam tray, it's actually a pretty sweet setup... pun intended.

Make sure your apples aren't extremely tart, the resulting syrup will pucker you until your head turns inside out.  Press the cider like you normally would, and mix in about 1/2 cup of brown sugar per gallon to cut the sour.  Start adding cider to the boiling pan slowly through a very small diameter siphon.  You may have to pinch the siphon a bit to slow the speed of flow down even more.

About halfway through the boiling down process coat the top of the boiling sap with cinnamon, stir it in and repeat once more.  If this is not enough cinnamon for you more can be added later.

Keep boiling the cider down until your candy thermometer reads about 220 Deg F.  That's a bit hotter that the joy of cooking will tell you, but I like my syrup extra syrupy.

The resulting syrup will always be a bit tart but that tends to go away after the second taste.  It's splendid on pancakes, and waffles, and it can be mixed with hot water to make something like mulled apple cider.

Hope you all have fun trying this out.  It's not too terribly difficult and because of apple cider's higher sugar content it only takes about half as much time to process as maple syrup, and the results are delicious- although nothing compared to the two of them mixed together.  Mmm mmm!