Anybody else make maple syrup?

[IncompetentHousewife]

It has been so unseasonably warm that it feels like maple syrup weather already. Does anyone else make their own maple syrup, either on a commercial scale or for home use?

I love talking maple and this weather has me itching to get out in the woods.

[kitchensqueen]

I don't, but I wish I could! How many trees do you tap each season and what's your annual take?

[IncompetentHousewife]

We do 300 trees with 700 taps. Last year was the best year ever, with 250 gallons made. This year my daughter wants to make her very own, so she'll tap the two trees in our front yard and boil them on the stove. She'll probably get a quart or two.

[kitchensqueen]

Wow, that's an impressive operation! Do you guys sell it commercially?

[Contrariety]

Oh, man!  I wish I could!  I live in Utah, and the climate is not ideal for sugar maples, but we do have the Canyon Maple which is the next closest cousin to the sugar maple, from what I understand.  The problem is that the canyon maple is really small, so you'd have to tap tons of trees to get anything out of it, assuming the weather cooperated.  I don't have the time and resources available to try currently, but it's most definitely on my list of things to at least give a whirl in the future, either by planting a sugar maple, or giving it a go with what we have locally available and well suited for the climate. 

I am just fascinated by the entire process.  I so wish I lived where Maple syrup was available locally.  It's pretty pricey here, too pricey to buy in bulk like I wish I could.