syrup

MAPLE SYRUP


Boil away the water from the sap of a sugar maple and you have maple syrup or maple sugar...Yum! It is best to tap large-crowned sugar maple trees, having a DBH (see definitions) of at least 10". Larger and fuller crowns means more leaves. More leaves means more sugar-producing photosynthesis. More sugar means more syrup.

Forest Management: The maple trees in your sugarbush should have a low density; low enough for the crowns to be uncrowded by adjacent trees on all sides. This low density will grow the large full-crowned trees needed for optimal syrup production. Roadside trees are excellent for tapping because the road openings encourage large and full crowns.

How it Works: In the fall, tree growth ends and starches are stored. Once March and April temperatures reach 40 degrees Fahrenheit, enzymes change the starch to sugar. The sugar flows up and down the tree trunk, where we can tap it. Heating during the day and cooling at night pumps the sap up and down the trunk of the tree. When the temperature goes above 45 degrees Fahrenheit, the enzymes stop and sap collection ends.

Tapping: Each tap hole will average 5-15 gallons of sap total. This translates into 1/2 to 1&1/2 quarts of syrup from each hole. Use a 7/16 bit or drill to bore a 2"-3" deep hole. Bore this hole slightly upwards to allow the sap to flow down and into the collection bucket. Insert a sap spout (spile) into the hole. Hang a bucket on the spout to collect the dripping sap. The bucket should have a cover to keep the rain out.

The earliest sap comes from the south or east side of the tree. The north side is better to tap later in the season. Keep new holes at least 3" away and slightly up from old holes. The number of taps you can put in maple, without hurting it, depends on its DBH. Refer to the following table.

DBH (inches)

# of Taps

10-15

1

15-20

2

20-25

3

25+

4

Sap Processing: Collect the sap daily; otherwise, sap will sour and spoil in warm weather. After collection, filter the sap (coffee filter) and boil it. The boiling evaporates the water to make the sap sugary. The finished syrup is seven degrees above the boiling point. Once your sap has reached a temperature of 107 degrees Celsius, it is syrup. (Keep boiling off the water to make maple sugar.) Transfer the finished syrup to another container. Cool the syrup, let sediments settle out, and then pour into another container. Discard the sediments on the bottom of the settling container. Reheat before transferring to other containers for cool storage.

Contact: Maine Maple Producers Association; Chester Basford: President; Benton Station, ME 04919

(Yankee Woodlot #9)

HOME / CONTENTS / INDEX / DEFINITIONS / REFERENCES / SUGGESTIONS