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How to Holiday Shop for your Backyard Sugar Maker

Nov 27, 2018 | DIY Maple Syrup

Back by popular demand! For the month of December, all orders come “gift wrapped” with a big red bow!

Sapling Evaporator

The hubbub of Thanksgiving has passed and you are looking forward to the gift-giving part of the holiday season! (Or, maybe not, but you’re still participating in it. It happens. Might as well do it up.)  You have an actual or aspiring backyard sugar maker in the family, and you would like to get them something they can use for their hobby maple syrup operation.

You are in luck! Here’s why. First, sugaring season comes swiftly on the heels of the holiday gift-giving season. So, unlike that trowel set/pressure canner/hunting rifle you’ve been eyeing for the same person, backyard sugar making tools can be used shortly after they are opened!

​Second, buying for the backyard sugar maker does not have to be expensive. Rather, the tools you need are simple, easy to find, and cover a variety of price points. There are bulky, big ticket items, to be sure, but also plenty of smallish, down-ticket items appropriate for . . . say . . . eight gift-giving nights in a row. . . a stocking, or . . . a package with postage that doesn’t break the bank!

Oh, but you don’t know anything about sugaring? Or you don’t know much? No biggie. Got you covered. Breathe. Let’s dive in.

First off, decide what category your gift recipient falls into. Are they (1) an aspiring sugar maker, or (2) an amateur who has made maple syrup on their stove / grill / other self-fabricated outside contraption. Knowing the answer to this question is important, as you will see.

The list of things any amateur sugar maker needs is short and as follows:

  • a drill – either cordless or brace – with a 5/16″ or 7/16″ bit
  • a hammer
  • 5/16″ or 7/16″ “spiles” – also called “taps” (spouts that take sap from tree to container – they are available in both sizes)
  • lidded buckets or sap bags
  • sap transportation and storage containers (food safe 5 gallon buckets and/or 55 gallon drums)
  • cheesecloth
  • a backyard boiler – also called “arch” – (Sapling Evaporatorcinder-block arch with Sapling Evaporator PanSeedling Evaporator Pan or Two-by-Four Evaporator Pan or the like)
  • fuel (propane or wood, depending on the boiler)
  • candy thermometer and/or hydrometer
  • syrup filters (pre-filter and filter)
  • syrup storage containers

If any of those items reached out and grabbed you already, awesome! We’ve reviewed six online stores where you can purchase the supplies here, and  you can find our product line here.

Otherwise, here are some recommendations:

For the Aspiring Sugar Maker

The aspiring sugar maker has always wanted to make maple syrup but hasn’t pulled the trigger yet.

Awesome! For the modestly adventurous, consider a starter kit like this one, which comes with some how-to guidance. You could also spend less (or get enough to tap something more than three trees) by sourcing the same or similar stuff elsewhere and reading the shortest guide to maple sugaring ever (written by yours truly). Consider throwing in a couple of food-safe 5-gallon buckets, a syrup filter and pre-filter, and a case of half-pint mason jars for the complete package.

Seedling Evaporator Pan over a cinder block fire (either wood or propane via a turkey fryer base or the like) would be an appropriate pan for as little as a three-tree operation. And, bonus: any purchase from us allows you access to the (unofficial) Vermont Evaporator Company Sugaring Hotline (my cell phone), which, my customers can tell you, is open at all times of the day and night for sugaring urgencies and emergencies!

If your aspiring sugar maker is moderately to highly adventurous, consider outfitting them for a ten-tap start instead (a drill and/or bit, ten buckets, ten spiles, cheesecloth, pre-filter, filter). There are several stand-alone, how-to guides out there, but also plenty of similar information becoming available on the internet.

​A Sapling Evaporator Pan over a home-made wood-box, or a Sapling Evaporator will come in handy for a ten-tap operation.

For the Amateur Sugar Maker

More even than an aspirant, though, the actual-already-amateur sugar maker will appreciate a “real” pan or rig. As your budget allows, consider upgrading your loved one from that bucket-over-an-open-fire, broiling-pan-on-the-grill, inside-the-house operation by maybe adding to their bucket-and-spile collection (be sure to confirm that they have more trees to tap!) and springing for a new pan. The Seedling Evaporator Pan for up to ten taps, the Sapling Evaporator Pan or Sapling Evaporator for five to fifty taps, or the Two-by-Four Pan to replace the pan on an existing rig or take a cinder-block operation to the next level.

Looking for something more modestly priced? How about some fancy syrup containers for their next harvest, or a good maple read (I can not recommend The Maple Sugar Book often enough) for off-season reflection on a favorite hobby? Or – in the category of boring but important – consider a 55 gallon sap storage container, handy for storing sap between weekend boils.

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