MAPLE SYRUP
TAPPING AND MAKING SYRUP
Sugar maple sap contains about 3 percent sugar, half to a third more than other maples
MIDDLE TO LATE MARCH - BEFORE THE LEAVES COME OUT IS THE RIGHT TIME TO TAP THE TREES. YOU MAY STILL HAVE SNOW ON THE GROUND IN THE HIGHER LATITUDES. IT WILL BE EARLIER IN THE YEAR IF YOU LIVE FARTHER SOUTH OR IN CALIFORNIA. WATCH THE TREES FOR THE CLUES AS TO THE RIGHT TIME IN YOUR AREA. THE LATER YOU WAIT, THE DARKER THE SAP AND SYRUP WILL BE. THE TEMPERATURE MUST BE BETWEEN 32 AND 50. UNDER 32 OR OVER 50, YOU WON'T GET ANY SAP TO RUN.
IT TAKES 40 GALLONS OF SAP TO MAKE 1 GALLON OF SYRUP For maple sugarers to make a decent profit, the sap run must last at least three or four weeks long. As many as 40 gallons of sap can be taken yearly from one very productive tree, but it takes about 35 or 40 gallons of sap to yield just one gallon of maple syrup or four and one-half pounds of maple candy.
YOU DON'T NEED ANY FANCY EQUIPMENT TO TAP A MAPLE TREE. ALL YOU NEED IS A WIDE DRILL BIT AND A NARROW DRILL BIT. Native Americans' sugaring method was to cut a gash in the tree and insert a hollow reed stem or a trough-shaped piece of bark.
YOU WILL NEED THE WIDE DRILL BIT TO DRILL A NICE SLIGHTLY UPWARD SLANTING HOLE INTO THE TREE. Tree tappers drill a hole about half an inch in diameter, three inches into the tree.
THE NARROW DRILL BIT IS USED TO DRILL A HOLE DOWN THE CENTER OF A SHORT BRANCH THAT FITS SNUGLY INTO THE HOLE YOU DRILL IN THE TREE. YOUR DRILL BIT WIDTH WILL HELP YOU JUDGE WHAT SIZE BRANCH TO CHOOSE FOR YOUR TAP. ON THE END OF THIS BRANCH, MAKE A NOTCH ON WHICH YOU CAN HANG YOUR BUCKET OR CLEAN MILK JUG TO CATCH THE SYRUP. WHEN YOU INSERT THE BRANCH WITH THE HOLE DOWN THE CENTER, INTO THE HOLE YOU DRILL INTO THE TREE, THE SAP WILL RUN OUT THE BRANCH INTO YOUR BUCKET. IF YOU USE A MILK JUG, YOU WILL NEED A FUNNEL TO EASE CATCHING THE SAP TO GET IT INTO THE NARROW OPENING ON THE MILK JUG.
WHEN COOKING DOWN YOUR SAP TO MAKE SYRUP, SKIM THE FOAM OFF THE TOP AS IT FORMS. COOK DOWN UNTIL THE SYRUP FORMS A SHEET OFF THE SIDE OF THE SPOON RATHER THAN DRIBBLE IN DROPS OFF THE END.
IF YOU LET THE SYRUP COOL AND DRY IN A PAN AT THIS POINT, IT WILL TURN INTO MAPLE CANDY AS IT HARDENS.
HAPPY MAPLE SUGARING.
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