Mattatuck Madness

Making Maple Syrup is a great way to be outside during a time of year when there is really nothing else to do for people who enjoy the outdoors.  It is truly a labor of love.  This site is dedicated to ways to make this process a little more enjoyable and efficient.  We put out about 100 taps each year and make between 25 and 35 gallons of syrup.  We are located in Watertown, CT and lease our trees from the State of Connecticut at a cost of .50 per tap.  Forms are available from DEEP department of Forestry on the State of Connecticut's website.  Our evaporator is 2' x 3' hobby style with a divided flat pan.  We boil outside and have developed a steam hood that allows us to boil in just about any type of weather while protecting the pan.  Our normal sugar concentration for our sap is around 1.5% mostly due to the fact that our trees are along a brook and on the North side of a large ridge.  Over the years we have come up with a few things that have made our process a little easier and more efficient. We started making syrup in 2000.