M is for March and Maple

Maple syrup season is nearing its end this year and I've remembered some things I forgot from two years ago and discovered some new things.

• Instead of keeping a pot going for days and adding to it gradually, I've been reducing ten gallons of sap a day into a daily batch of syrup. This yields from four to seven cups of syrup (this is box elder trees we're talking about). It's much lighter and clearer than the dark, redolent syrup I made before.
• Durr, heat the jars up before you put 220-degree syrup in them. I had the bottom pop off a jar and a quart of syrup went down the sink.
• I haven't been sterilizing the jars. I also didn't filter the sand out of the syrup. I'm going to siphon off most of the syrup from the jars, make one big batch, filter the sandy part into it, and re-can it properly in a canner.
  
• Directions say to heat it to seven degrees above the boiling point of water, which would be 219.7 here. Since I got a new thermometer that doesn't do tenths but also doesn't make me stick my hand in the pot, I'm just heating it up to 220. I think it should be thicker than the watery stuff.
• buckets are less likely to fall off if you hang them from the tops of the spiles, instead of using the hooks.
• Dry holes (3/8 inch) at the beginning of the season could mean that the ground is too frozen for sap to flow. Do not drill more holes hoping to hit paydirt (hope that big tree survives my hacking it full of holes)
  

I just cooked up a batch of carp bait and when it stops raining I'm going to try my luck with that. If I actually catch one and I can work up the nerve to fillet it, I'm going to go buy a smoker and see if [properly de-stunk] smoked carp is as good as I've heard. If not, guess I'll have to smoke something else.

Oh, and before the recipe disappears off the Internet again:

Carp bait

2 cups Cornmeal

3 tbsp Sugar

1/2 tsp Salt

1 pkg Strawberry Gelatin

1 tbsp Vanilla

2 cups Water

1 bag marshmallows

1) - pour all ingredients into a large bowl, mixing until dissolved.

2) - cook over a low flame, stirring constantly.

3) - while stirring, slowly add Marshmallows.

4) - continue until batch is sticky as glue & too thick to stir.

5) - wrap in wax paper, clean the kitchen, then get your butt to the river.

6) - use strong line, put on a slip sinker then tie on a stout hook.

7) - pinch on a piece of shot ~ 12" above hook (as a stop for the slip sinker). 8) - break off a hunk of the bait & mold it fully around hook.

9) - cast out & get ready for some hot & heavy action!

[obviously you don't put all the ingredients in; you leave the marshmallows for later, and a tablespoon of vanilla is ludicrous. I use a teaspoon. My past experiences have taught me that this stuff is too sticky to handle, so I rolled today's batch in thin strips in wax paper. When it's cooled I'm going to slice it and roll it in cornmeal.]