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With maple sugar, a wide variety of delicious and tasty products can be made. The two most basic examples are crunchy maple sugar and molded or granulated maple sugar.

Each of these maple sugar renditions is delightfully sweet and fragrant. They are all redolent of the flavor of pure maple that many of us simply love. Your success in creating these renditions depends on how humid the weather is, so it is good to watch the weather channel and see to it that it will be a dry day when you make your maple sugar.

Here are some of the things you need to have on hand:

-       2-3 gallons of 100% pure maple syrup

-       Wooden spoon with a long handle

-       A deep and heavy-bottomed pan or pot (with handle)

-       Candy thermometer

-       High-heat-resistant spatula

-       Wooden bowl (for cooling)

-       Long sleeves (for protection)

-       Glasses (for protection)

Crunchy Maple sugar

To make this, heat the maple syrup until the temperature of 233-234 degrees Fahrenheit is reached. Once it has boiled to this temperature, cool it down to roughly 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, stir it continuously until plastic consistency is achieved. The last step is to pour it into molds and allow it to solidify into crunchy candy.

Molded or Granulated Maple sugar

Pour the maple candy into the pan and boil it up to 280 degrees Fahrenheit. Foam will form on top while it boils. Skim off this foam using a wooden spoon. When the said temperature is reached, remove the pan from the heat and immediately begin stirring. Continue doing so for about five minutes. After that, pour it into a wooden bowl and stir continuously until no more moisture if left. If you do it correctly, all that remains should be maple sugar with a wonderful maple flavor. After it has cooled, use a grater to turn the sugar into fine powder material. Use it as how you would with granulated sugar.

If you are asked to bring certain documents to the meeting, bring them. He wants to get through the process as much as you do with little if not any hitches. This also helps him facilitate his day which makes him look good to his higher ups. Good to make a friend rather than an enemy in this case.

You do have rights though. Even if this is the IRS realize they too have to prove their position if it conflicts with your documents and IRS code references. Do not let the agent intimidate you. Ask him to prove why you cannot take a deduction you can show a legal reference for. This is where it helps to have IRS audit representation, so someone knowledgeable can fight for your interests.

You might be nervous but do not volunteer information. For instance, you might say you do not have a receipt for a deduction he has not brought up. Be sure to only answer questions that they directly ask and don’t volunteer any other information.

photo credit: chippykev

Oak has been around for many hundreds of years. The earliest reports of oak furniture date to around the time of the Normans, during the Dark Ages. At that time oak was the most common tree covering most of the land in England and across Europe. Oak has amazing characteristics of hardness and water resistance that it was useful for ships. As it was so common and easily available most furniture was built using it. Now only the most prestigious people such as Kings or rulers had raised seating. The commoners were expected to kneel below their King. We still have sayings about this requirement for deference to those who are seated in terms like “Chairman” and “Come To The Bench”. The earliest oak furniture was rustic and roughly constructed and mainly consisted of benches, tables and chairs.