February-March is maple sap season. Northern Amish collect sap and boil syrup every spring.
Tapping
Drill a 1 cm hole, 5 cm deep into a maple. Insert a spile. Hang a bucket. Sap flows when days are above freezing, nights below — temperature swing pushes sap up. One tree yields 40–80 liters per season.
Boiling
Maple sap is 2% sugar, 98% water. Must evaporate the water. Boil over open fire in a wide shallow pan (maximum evaporation surface). 40 liters sap → 1 liter syrup. Process: 6–12 hours of continuous boiling.
Doneness
Syrup boiling point is 4°C above water (104°C at sea level). Or: drip on snow — if it sets into soft taffy, it's done.
Storage
Hot syrup into sterile jars — stores one year. Opened — refrigerate (root cellar) up to 6 months. If mold appears on surface — remove, reboil syrup, it's safe.