As the weather starts to warm and spring gives way to early summer, it’s time to rack the cider brewed from last fall’s apple harvest. Racking is an essential step in the cider-making process—it keeps your cider clean, crisp, and free from the off-flavors that develop if it sits too long on the lees. Lees, for those new to cider making, are the layer of sediment that forms at the bottom of the carboy. They’re made up of dead yeast cells and tiny cider particles left behind af

This is the first year I’ve collected birch sap and boiled it down into syrup, and the whole process has felt a bit like stepping back in time. From maple to birch Birch syrup season begins immediately after maple season winds down. Once both days and nights are staying above freezing, the birch sap starts to move, signaling it’s time to tap. The window is short—typically just 2–3 weeks—before the sap changes. As the season ends, the sap is known to become bitter, a pattern t