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| How Maple Syrup is made |
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Pure maple syrup is made by concentrating the slightly sweet sap of the sugar maple tree. The basics needed for making maple syrup therefore are some sugar maple trees and a method of concentrating the sap into syrup As winter comes to an end, usually in late February or early March, sugarmakers prepare for their annual harvest of the maple trees. The group of maple trees that is used is called sugarbush, or maple orchard. The sugarmaker prepares his sugarbush by clearing access roads in the snow, removing fallen branches, and setting up his buckets or sap tubing systems. Whether they use tubing or buckets, sugarmakers must be sure that all their sap gathering, collecting, evaporating and bottling equipment is absolutely clean and in good condition before the beginning of the season.
There is no set time when a sugarmaker must tap his trees. He must be aware of the clues of nature to tell him when the time is right. The temperatures are not as extreme as earlier in the winter, the streams run with melting snow, icicles drip faster, the crows can be heard announcing the not-too-distant arrival of spring. Mostly what the sugarmaker is waiting for is the arrival of the time of year known as "sugar weather," when the nights are below freezing and the days are mild. This is the type of weather that makes the sap flow.
When the sugar farmer feels the time is "right" he will start to tap his trees. Tapping involves going from tree to tree in the sugarbush, drilling holes 7/16 of an inch in diameter, about 3 inches deep, into the wood which carries the sap. If buckets are used to collect the sap, a metal spout or "spile" is tapped snugly into the hole, and a bucket is hung from a hook on the spout. A cover is put on the bucket to keep out rain, snow, and debris. If a plastic tubing system is used to collect the sap, a plastic spout, which is connected to the pipeline system, is tapped into the hole in the tree.
The maple tree must be a least 10 inches in diameter and in good health before it can be tapped. It usually takes about forty years before a tree will reach tappable size. The hole is usually placed about waist high on the tree, and not near previous tapholes. Larger trees may take as many as three or four taps, but only if they are healthy. The sugarmaker has a feeling of respect for his trees and he knows he must take care of this tree which provides for him. Trees that are in poor health or have been defoliated by insects are often tapped less, or not tapped at all. If proper taping procedures are followed, tapping will not endanger the health and vitality of the tree. A healthy sugar maple can provide sap every year for a hundred years or more. |
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