Update on the birch syrup

A picture of a foxy visitor we had the other week.

The last of the sap in the big pot.

 Filtering  the sap through a coffee filter and mesh filter to get any gunk out. I did this each time I brought new sap in to put in the big pot.

This is what remains.

Still steam coming off the open one.

Well this was an expirence and come to an end this early only because my work schedule was getting in the way and collecting sap to boil down on the woodstove was becoming impossible. This last little bit was done on the propane stove over the last weekend that I had off.
My main boiling down pot was a 12 qt stainless steel pot and I bet I filled her up twenty times or better to get this quantity of syrup. I think I may have gotten away with boiling it down even more.
As for the taste...well....when the pot was boiling and the steam was in the air it definitely had the aroma of syrup. It's got a woodsy, spicy flavour. It's not maple and it's definitely not aunt Jemima!
One dilemma with wild or  new foods is trying to compare it to something else when it is its own.
The two jars are bottled tight so I will save them for I think bread making in the fall and winter. I may try flavouring some herbal teas over the summer with the other.
The sap is regrettably still flowing. Oh how I wish I had the time.
I have taken down my buckets and taken out the taps(stiles or whatever one calls them). Said my thanks to the trees and gave them an offering for their generosity.
Next year.....I am working towards having more time to do what I want to do. I have plans on making different taps for the trees. I used a combination of ones made from birch branches as well as metal ones.
I plan on styling ones from birch branches so that they also can hold onto the bucket.
Another thing that I learned was when tapping the trees when standing on four feet of snow>put the taps in lower! I am only five feet tall and was surprized as the snow started going away.