Spring Adventures in Maple Sugaring
This week I decided to try maple sap tapping to make my very own maple syrup!
Growing up near Canada, maple syrup is a big deal. For a short time in my childhood, I lived in a town known for its Maple Syrup Festival. Every March, the taps would go out around town and people would know that spring was coming. Volunteers would collect sap from the buckets, people were tapping their own trees, and crafters were busy cataloging an inventory of the winter’s wares for the upcoming fair. Even after moving away, I kept friends in the area and made it to town almost every year, minimally for the town’s annual pancake breakfast, serving the local syrup that was made in the earlier parts of the spring.
My house has several deciduous trees on our property – two very prominent maples right in our front yard! I have been thinking about it for 5 years, so I decided – life is short – let’s do this thing!
I ordered a tapping kit, and decided a little late was better than never. Besides, the buds haven’t yet developed on the trees, which means there’s still time in the season for getting some decent quality sap. Let me take you through the last 24 hours!
Above, you can see my tap. I thought it might take some time to install, but it was in and working within one minute! I took the power drill outside with a 5/16 inch drill bit. I used the provided blue tubing as a reference for height, and drilled on a slightly upward angle, about 1 inch inside until the white bark started coming out of the hole, and I could see wetness. Now, usually you need a hammer to get the tap in, but mine went in with minimal elbow grease, and no need for a hammer. Above, you can tell it is working, as a beetle is feeding off the tap as well.
I don’t use a lot of plastic, so the biggest food grade containers I could find were my handy mason jars. The above picture was taken a mere 15 minutes after tapping – it became immediately clear that I was unprepared for just how much sap one good maple could give! I realized I needed a better solution fast, not tomorrow or the next day. So I put on my town shoes, grabbed the car keys, and went to my local grocery store. I was walking in the soda and bottled water aisle when I spotted these great big bins, with a piercing area on the top and a spout on the bottom. Perfect!! I took them home, drilled out the top, dumped water out of the bottom spout, and ran my tubing through the top of the water bin. I even added a second tap to the front maple, as it was producing rather heavily.
Now all I needed to do is wait. When my alarm went off at 6:30 am, I immediately got out of my pajamas (a rare sight on a weekday, as I work at home) and into my jeans, a sweatshirt, and some warm socks. I gathered a sharpie and 4 mason jars. I labeled them “side”, “front 1”, & “front 2” so that I could identify each collection. I quickly needed a fifth mason jar, and when I was finally done I put them all in the fridge. Of course, first I took a sip of each sap to compare flavors. They both taste like slightly sweet water. My dog is pretty interested in what is happening with the trees, so I give a little bit of sap to him and he is pretty excited to learn that it is a treat!
Amounts collected:
- 400 mL from the side maple tree – I think it is a red maple, so the flavor profile may be different and respond differently to the weather.
- 3000 mL from the front maple tree – I believe this may be a sugar maple, although there are hybrids that look very similar. Nonetheless, they all can be tapped and have a good sugar content.
With a recent run of groceries and meal prep taking up my fridge, I’m really starting to run low on space. I realized that I should probably try to reduce the amount, even if I don’t make “syrup” right away, and I dump the 3L sap from the front maple into a large pot on my stove, and move my work station into the kitchen so I can ensure nothing boils over. Wow guys, I got so excited toward the end of the workday as I realized that it really was working! I was able to get 3L down to 400 mL – and it is nowhere near syrup consistency yet.
Look at the amber color beginning to develop! I’m so excited that I order my candy thermometer immediately, as I realize this isn’t just a weekend project. It is now 6 pm, and time for me to make dinner. I look outside and the front maple tap #2 is 1/3 full! I may need to dump this directly into the pot tomorrow morning, and work from the kitchen for the rest of the week.