MAPLE SYRUP PRODUCTION

There are many legends concerning the discovery of making maple syrup - most of which are probably more speculation than truth. One story states that a native American pulled his tomahawk out of a tree and the sap dripped into a container sitting under the tree. When the sap, which appeared to be water, was later used for cooking, the sap was reduced to syrup, imparting to the food a sweet and distinctive flavor. From this event, maple syrup became an important ingredient in cooking. It was given the name sinzibukwud.

But, we do know that the maple industry dates back many generations, and to those farmers who own sugar groves, the making of maple syrup is as much a part of general farm operations as is making hay. The major maple syrup producers are located in northeastern North America north of 35 degrees latitude and east of 95 degrees longitude.

The flow of maple sap precedes all other signs of spring and is the very first indication that these seemingly dead centenarians - the pride of the Appalachians - will again spring to life and adorn the hillsides of the Roof Garden of Pennsylvania with all the beauty of their foliage.

At this season of the year, to natives and strangers alike, the "lure of the maple camp" is but an expression of marvel that our own native maple trees possess the ability to produce luxuries of such distinctive flavor that, although often copied, has never been matched.

Maple sap is a colorless liquid taken directly from the maple tree. There are over 100 varieties of maple trees, but only the Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) has a high concentration of natural sugar. The sap contains about 2% sugar. A tree takes 40 years to become mature enough to be productive and then produces only about one quart of maple syrup per season. Excess water is boiled off in an evaporator, often over a wood fire. It is believed that this system of evaporation gives better flavor and better color. Absolutely nothing is added. Approximately 40 to 50 gallons of sap, or "sugar water" as it is sometimes called, are required to produce one gallon of 100% pure maple syrup. The average maple season covers the period between late February and early April.

In colonial days pure maple syrup was made by cooking sap down to syrup or sugar in large cast iron kettles, hung from tripods, over open fires. Most of the syrup made in iron kettles looked and tasted a lot like black strap molasses with a scorched flavor.

Color is used as the basis of grade, because it is generally the best indicator of flavor. The weather must be ideal during the sap harvest each spring to make Grade A Light Amber or even Medium Amber syrup. The other official grade, which we do not sell, is Grade A Dark Amber.

By U.S. federal statute, syrup must test at 66% sugar or 11 lbs. to the gallon. This point is reached at 7.1 Fahrenheit degrees above the boiling point of water. Syrup is drawn off from the evaporator at this point.

Between one and four taps are driven several inches into each tree, depending on the size of the tree. In earlier days, after the trees were tapped, buckets were hung at each tree to catch the sap. Nowadays, it is more common to see plastic lines leading the sap from each tree to a common collection point. This saves the labor of going to each tree periodically to empty the buckets. In this method, the taps are called spiles. The vertical lines that connect the spiles to the branch line are called drop lines. These lines allow the spiles to be moved to new holes around the tree each spring without re-plumbing the line. These lines also allow for the separation of CO² gas and sap. All plants use carbon dioxide to live. A large part of what comes from the taphole is CO² gas which, if not separated from the sap, can contribute to vapor locks, inhibiting the flow of sap. No more than 10% of the tree's sap is collected each year.

Sap collected in a bucket

Sap collected in tubing

A typical evaporator
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