![]() It generally takes 40 gallons of sap to produce just one gallon of syrup. Boiling the sap releases water in the form of steam. Maple sap is generally 2-3% sugar, while Maple syrup is 66% sugar. Whether you boil the sap in a pot or in a large high-tech evaporator, the goal at this point is the same: remove water from the sap to concentrate it. Once the sap is collected, it is time to turn it into the delicious stuff! Turning Sap into Syrup A wood burning evaporator Fresh maple syrup! Each tap produces 10-20 gallons of sap in a season. ![]() While this collection method certainly isn’t as picturesque as the old wooden or tin buckets hanging from trees, it is certainly more efficient.Īnd, well, the buckets are made of plastic these days anyway.ĭepending on size, a tree can have between one and three taps. The tubing is attached to a tap in the maple tree and the sap then flows through the tubing to a centralized collection vat. Instead of the traditional bucket, most maple syrup producers now use a network of tubing to collect the sap. Here in Maine that is generally somewhere between late February and early March. The sap starts to rise in maple trees when daytime temperatures rise above, and nighttime temps fall below, freezing. Collecting the Sap Collecting sap the old fashioned way…. You can make maple syrup the old fashioned way - tap into a maple tree, hang a bucket to catch the sap, and then boil it down in a pot on your stove.īut while the basic concept hasn’t changed, modern equipment has made it more efficient and easier for maple syrup producers to collect and process larger quantities of sap. In fact, Maine is the third largest maple syrup-producing state, behind Vermont and New York.Īnd this is the time of year when they are harvesting sap and turning it into that delicious liquid amber! I am lucky to live in a state with hundreds of small family maple syrup producers. On top of all that, it tastes amazing - providing depth of flavor, and not just sweetness, to anything you add it to. I mean the small-batch, dark, buttery, and intensely flavorful kind.ĭid you know that compared to refined white sugar, pure maple syrup is high in antioxidants and contains important nutrients such as zinc and manganese? Or that it could help reduce inflammation and improve digestion?! I’m not talking about the overly sweet artificial stuff from the grocery store. It’s maple syrup season here in Maine! Join me on a tour of some classic “sugar shacks”! Spring is coming and the sap is rising in the trees.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |