Comments for not far from the tree

Comment on Tapping trees with care by Bonnie Jansen

Bonnie Jansen — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:20:25 +0000

Dear Friends,
I am writing from the small town of Clinton, MI. This week, I finally got a friend to tap for me a huge old maple tree, of our town’s original Sugarbush from the 1830’s. The tree is outide the kitchen window of our 1830 house, so I can watch the collection bucket from the stove where I am experimenting with and learning to make maple syrup.
I am a retired State of Michigan Registered Dietitian, my husband is a retired high school teacher, and we and our children operate a sheep farm.
Having studied Food Science and Human Nutrition at Michigan State Univ., I found myself immediately measuring every drop of sap, very carefully using candy thermometers and candy making experience to keep track of the temperature, and generally having a very interesting time running to the internet and researching recipe ideas and maple sugaring methods both old and new. Finding out all sorts of genealogical information about Smith family in the Ionia MI area, tapping trees there (350) for about 6 generations.
I have found excellent information through Ohio State University, and since I have a sister in California who grows grapes and makes wine with her husband an a group of retired college professors… the next logical step appears to be the making of wine/brandy / and other recipes I am finding on the internet.
As I cook my small batches (2000cc at a time) I have switched from a heavy-bottomed stock pot (as recommended by my brother-in=law ) to a white ceramic-over-steel casserole pot and I can now fit my steel-backed candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and I can see the color of the cooking sap. I do not thus have the sugary sediment in the bottom of my syrup which my tree-tapping friend has.; OSU’s info teaches me that my friend must be drinking too much beer or falling asleep when he boils his sap outdoors on Sundays. At least, he got me started… and it is harmless, inexpensive pleasure and not as frightening as I had expected.
I had suffered extreme fear of making Baklava until I took a class at our count’s Vo-Tech; now I see recipes on the internet for Maple Bacon Baklava, which I intend to try as I urge others to do.

Comment on Urban tree tapping by glenn

glenn — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 21:25:16 +0000

twi may concern

To tap you need a maple tree (look under the tree for maple leaves and helicopter seeds) a 7/16 ‘ drill bit with a cordless drill, and a spile (the little spigot you insert in the hole), a bucket and a lid from any country hardware or co-op store’

Tap the spile firmly in the hole, hang the bucket and lid and gather the sap daily between the last week in feb to the first week in april

Keep adding and boiling the sap in a stock kettle until it reduces to syrup so that the mixture flakes when dripped from the side of a teaspoon

Don’t worry about the tree…. it will heal itself by the next season

hgd

Comment on A Little Late on the Preserving Train, but I’m Still Cookin’ ‘Em Apples! by Jenna Charlton

Jenna Charlton — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:32:10 +0000

That sounds delicious! Going to give it a try.

Comment on We’d Tap That! by Lynn Short

Lynn Short — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:30:48 +0000

I have never had syrup from a Norway Maple but it sounds like an interesting project to use this species. I guess it will require a lot more boiling than for Sugar Maple which means the use of more resources to produce the same product. I understand the same is true for making Birch syrup.
Since Norway Maple is regarded as a pest species in ravines, I wonder if tapping might be considered in those locations if the trees are large enough.

Comment on A Little Late on the Preserving Train, but I’m Still Cookin’ ‘Em Apples! by Lynn Short

Lynn Short — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:21:14 +0000

I make sage apple jelly every year. I have a large sage plant in my garden. I simmer several branches of sage in the prepared juice and strain it before making the jelly. It is excellent with chicken or pork or just with crackers for a treat.

Comment on Tapping trees with care by Ted Edwards

Ted Edwards — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:42:42 +0000

AWESOME, I always wondered why this hadn’t been tried in Downtown Toronto, given the abundance of Maple Trees! I used to live near Queen and Booth and had eyed up the maples for years. I’ve since moved about an hour north where we own 8 acres with a variety of trees, including many varieties of maple trees. We tap anywhere from 5-8 trees each year, choosing different trees randomly based on their size and health. The biggest challenge and the most fun is the family boiling weekends to get 40+ gallons of sap boiled down.

Enjoy, as I’m sure the neighborrhoods will be very involved and some more Canadians will understand that there are NO additives to maple syrup ;).

ted.

Comment on A Neighbourhood Quince Quest by Anna

Anna — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 16:36:38 +0000

For a few weeks while they were in season, I saw quinces for sale at Kensington Fruit Market, a little Portuguese place at the corner of Kensington and St. Andrew streets.

Comment on We’d Tap That! by Laura Reinsborough

Laura Reinsborough — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 19:38:11 +0000

Hi Vik,

Thanks so much for your comment. The concerns you raise are very real. We’ve been working hard to research and address them so that our project is done with the utmost respect for Toronto’s trees. Your comment helps me realize that we have not yet made these issues known nor have we articulated the precautions that we’ll be taking to ensure the trees are respected. Thanks very much for highlighting this. We’ve since set to work making our efforts on this more public so that this can be used as an educational opportunity.

If you’d like to contribute any further, please do not hesitate to contact me at laura@notfarfromthetree.org or the volunteer organizing team at tapthat@notfarfromthetree.org.

Best,
Laura
Artistic Director – Not Far From The Tree

Comment on We’d Tap That! by Vik

Vik — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 19:33:27 +0000

Based on chapter 608 of the City of Toronto’s municipal code, which prohibits any activity that could be damaging to a tree in our parks, I am very concerned about this project. They prohibit things like tapping as city trees are usually under a lot of stress and may not recover from tapping. If park trees are considered under stress, street trees or trees on private property are likely more stressed. I believe that only forest trees in healthy environments should be tapped.

I think harvesting fruit from trees is a great idea but maple syrup is not an important food stuff that is needed by people in need – it is really a luxury item that may come at the expense of trees in an already impoverished urban forest.

If you do go ahead with this project, please respect the trees and do not over-tap them; have the tapping done by an experienced person who knows tree physiology, and train everyone working with the trees.

Comment on A Neighbourhood Quince Quest by Rachel

Rachel — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:49:46 +0000

Hi! Quince is REALLY popular in Argentina so I would recommend going to an Argentinian or South American market. There are two restaurants downtown that have an Argentine influence – La Merceria and El Almacen – and they might know some secrets about where to find quince. (In Argentina it’s called “membrilla,” so remember to write that down if they don’t know the word in English.)

Should you ever find yourself in Buenos Aires, you’ll be very happy to eat all the quince you’d like. Good luck!