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This year my husband tried his hand at making Black Walnut Syrup and the results are amazing! The trees are tapped in the late winter and the sap is collected and reduced by boiling until it is thick with sweet flavor. The catch is that it takes about 80 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup, and black walnuts do not produce as much sap as maples. This is why most producers stick with Maple syrup making this a rare treat, but it is worth it. The taste is somewhat caramelly, smoky, nutty, sweet. I enjoy the flavor in coffee, tea, over ice-cream, and of course on a hot stack of pancakes. You should not consume if you have a nut allergy. Available in 8oz and 4oz jars.

https://www.logananicholson.com/shop/p/mxmcfsjlb46z6y0ukbh7w9evfe2k5v
IMG_20230124_230035937.jpg
First Batch of Walnut Syrup
First Batch of Walnut Syrup
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Do you plan on making and selling any more? Bought two jars from you before and really enjoyed them!
 
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Location: Missouri
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Unfortunately not this year. Production costs were prohibitively high so we made very little profit last winter and don't think we could charge much more if we were to offer syrup again. Maybe we'll do it again sometime in the future if we can find a way to reduce production costs.
 
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i’ve made a mixed syrup from just a couple maples and a bunch of black walnuts. i can’t blame you at all! it’s a lot of work for a tiny bit of magic.
 
Katie Nicholson
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It is magical! We've long since finished our last jar that we saved for ourselves. I really do hope we do it again some year when we've got more time. Maybe when our children are big enough to help which will be a while. Those buckets can get heavy!
 
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I'm gonna do this! I've got an couple dozen black walnut trees at the back of my property to give it a try this year. Guess who won't be buying maple syrup at the store anymore?
 
Katie Nicholson
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Go for it! It's a lot of work, but very tasty results! Hopefully your trees are closer together than ours are so you don't have a much walking to do!
 
J Garlits
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[quote=Katie Nicholson]Go for it! It's a lot of work, but very tasty results! Hopefully your trees are closer together than ours are so you don't have a much walking to do! [/quote]

I only want about half a gallon this year, so the burden should be pretty light. I have all the equipment and I'll have the time. Should only take a few hours to boil down that amount. Maybe two shorter sessions, or one long one.

I'm excited about this. I have a college friend who lives in southern Indiana who said she found a vendor making hickory syrup at her farmer's market a couple summers ago. I researched it, and I don't think it's from the sap, but she said it was tasty. This Black Maple syrup will put me over the top with anyone who comes over for Sunday brunch and tosses a stack of flapjacks on their plate.

J
 
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Hello, any helpful hints on how long to boil the sap after I get it collected? I will try this this year.
 
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Location: NE Missouri, USA
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I've been looking to make some for years now and finally made it happen, I've got 50 trees tapped so far and supplies for another 50. Two batches down, hopefully lots more to go. I am hoping to sell it, and the prices I've seen are pretty surprising. I guess the price or everything surprises me these days but $40-50 for an 8oz jar is a lot. Definitely makes all the endless sap hauling and fire tending worth it. And of course all the syrup I can eat myself.

At those prices, maybe it would be worth it for you to do another run!

As far how long to boil it, it's a long time. Depends on your fire and surface area of your pans but 5 hours is about as quick as I can make it with a rolling boil in three hotel pans, and that's for about 20 gallons of sap. You want to get it to 7 degrees above the boiling temperature of water or 67% sugar.
 
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