We live in Central Ontario. We've only tapped 6 trees so we're not going to get any more than we can use ourselves and maybe give a few 350ml bottles to some friends. He's cooking to the recommended 4 degrees celcius over the boiling point of water (this is what the local syrup supplies store advised, as well as a couple books). It's really quite light. Tastes amazing, but it's reeeally light. We are cooking outside using a propane fire and stock pot set up. When it gets dark and he only has about a half hour to hour left, he brings it inside to finish on the stove. So far, we have just under 5 litres of finished syrup, with another ~60L of sap waiting to go, plus whatever we'll collect today. The filters are staying relatively clean compared to what you've described, brendasue. Where are you located? This is our first attempt at doing this, so we're definitely learning as we go! It's producing far more than we imagined. My boyfriend is already talking about "expanding operations" to tap a few more trees at a different property that his dad owns.

Lori, that cake does sound delicious, and other than the corn syrup and the sugar (which I can substitute Splenda for in the recipe), it would be perfect for our low-carb diet. Would anyone have any ideas as to what I could possibly substitute for the corn syrup? I'd really like to surprise my hubby with it (he loves his dessert).

First thought was that there was too much maple syrup for the amount of chocolate. I normally heat the cream first and then add the chocolate, letting the heat from the cream melt it. According to Baking 911, it is the fat content of the cream that makes for a more stable ganache. And your recipe uses very little cream. ".....As a general rule, the higher the fat content of the cream, the richer and more stable the finished ganache will be. (The milk solids in the cream also help thicken the ganache and the butterfat lends smoothness and moistness). I like to use heavy whipping cream to make ganache. Even crème fraîche or sour cream can be used instead of heavy cream. "

Tami, no, I don't like jam, jelly or preserves made here, in the US. They're extremely sweet for me. I couple of days ago, I got some fresh strawberries, slided them up and put in a saucepan. I added a pinch of salt and enough sugar to my taste; then, simmered until fruits soften and sugar melted. No water was added. The sauce came out thick enough. I used that over the pancake and it was wonderful! Lou, I went to Walmart and exchanged the Karo syrup to the dark one. While I was there, I looked up for the Karo Pancake Syrup, Walmart didn't have it. Kroger or local grocery stores may have it but I haven't had the time to make that trip. I think I'm going to stick with the fresh fruits simmered in a bit of sugar, (depending how sweet the fruits are). This stuff seemed to become addicting somehow. I'm going to try it over some bisquits. too