Prairie du Chien man enjoys making maple syrup
Ben Hoksch strains some sap while cooking Friday afternoon. A jar of sweet syrup rests upon one of the cinder blocks. (Photos by Ted Pennekamp)
The cooking of the sap is done over several hours.
The sap from a nearby maple tree is poured into a five-gallon bucket.
Ben watches over his homemade cooker.
By Ted Pennekamp
It’s maple syrup season and Prairie du Chien’s Ben Hoksch is one who enjoys creating the tasty treat each year with a little help from his friends.
“It’s a lot of work,” said Ben. “But, I have fun doing it.”
On Friday, Ben was busy cooking one of his last batches of the year near his residence along the backwaters of the Mississippi.
As the season winds down, Ben said he may also produce a batch of acerglyn, a type of honey and maple mead that has about 10 to 12 percent alcohol. “It’s kind of a maple syrup wine,” noted Ben, who first embarked upon his hobby about seven years ago.
“There are several people helping out,” said Ben who has about 50 trees tapped for sap at 20 homes in Prairie du Chien. He said he trades the sap for syrup with the people who have generously allowed him to use their maple trees. It is the second year for some homes, he said.
Ben built his own cooker, which includes a large, metal pan placed upon cinder blocks. The fire under the pan “cooks” the sap and evaporates the water off to gradually reduce the sap to maple syrup. The resulting syrup is strained through cheesecloth and various other filters. Numerous friends help out by watching the cooking process and stoking the fire while Ben is gone.
Recently, Ben collected 130 gallons of sap in a two-day period. On Friday, he cooked about 90 gallons. The cooking evaporates approximately 15 gallons of water per hour, Ben said. It takes about 10 hours to produce three gallons of delicious syrup.
Several area businesses also help Ben with his hobby. Dunkin’ Donuts and Eddie’s Irish Pub of Prairie du Chien saved numerous five-gallon buckets for him. Power Elite Roofing of Monona gave him several cinder blocks. Wolf Machine donated pallets and Kembles Green House also gave wood for making the fires.
Ben produces numerous jars of maple syrup each season, a lot of which he gladly gives to very appreciative friends and acquaintances. He said someday he might try to make a little money along the way by selling some of his rich and satisfying syrup.
