How To Make Syrup
We all love Maple syrup, and you will be happy to know that it is not too difficult to make. You can make maple syrup from all maples, but some will produce more than others. Do not think that you are restricted to only sugar maples. Note Box Elder does not look like most maple leaves but is actually one of the best sources of sap for making syrup.
Most maple trees are good sources of sap for making sugar. Black Walnut, Birch trees, Sycamores, even ironwood aka Ironwood, Eastern Hophornbeam are all trees that you can use for making syrup.
Before we start it should be known up front that you will only get one gallon of syrup from about 40 gallons of good maple sap. If you tap birch trees you will need 80 gallons of sap to equal 40 gallons of maple sap. So beware. You will need a lot of sap. The good news is that when the sap is flowing you should be able to collect all you want. The key is to not miss out. The time to collect sap varies by latitude. Typically up North where most syrup is made you want to start collecting when the weather starts to warm in the spring yet still dips below freezing at night.
Further south your timing will be a little more difficult to pinpoint. Most syrup makers will stop harvesting their sap when leaves begin to grow on the trees due to the poor taste it will have. Just test trees as winter loses its grip and when the trees start producing you will need to be quick. If you miss out it will be a year before you get another chance!
Collecting sap means drilling a hole into the tree, hammering a metal spout and hanging a bucket directly underneath to collect the sap. If you don't have ready-made spouts you can improvise with a nail or something. Bore the hole and the sap will come out. Find a way to collect it.
The sap needs to be filtered to remove contaminants. The sap needs to be heated to force the water to evaporate away. All you are really doing is concentrating the sugars in the sap. Keep in mind that boiling the sap also causes chemical changes that give the syrup its flavor.
If you under boil your sap/syrup it will be too watery and will spoil. This boiling evaporation process should be done outdoors, preferably under a pavilion. Never do it indoors as it will get sugar on the walls of your home and basically destroy it. I can only imagine the insect infestation that would occur.
That is it. You are done. Store in containers and enjoy. Who would have thought that making syrup was as simple as boiling down tree sap?
Most maple trees are good sources of sap for making sugar. Black Walnut, Birch trees, Sycamores, even ironwood aka Ironwood, Eastern Hophornbeam are all trees that you can use for making syrup.
Further south your timing will be a little more difficult to pinpoint. Most syrup makers will stop harvesting their sap when leaves begin to grow on the trees due to the poor taste it will have. Just test trees as winter loses its grip and when the trees start producing you will need to be quick. If you miss out it will be a year before you get another chance!
The sap needs to be filtered to remove contaminants. The sap needs to be heated to force the water to evaporate away. All you are really doing is concentrating the sugars in the sap. Keep in mind that boiling the sap also causes chemical changes that give the syrup its flavor.
If you under boil your sap/syrup it will be too watery and will spoil. This boiling evaporation process should be done outdoors, preferably under a pavilion. Never do it indoors as it will get sugar on the walls of your home and basically destroy it. I can only imagine the insect infestation that would occur.
That is it. You are done. Store in containers and enjoy. Who would have thought that making syrup was as simple as boiling down tree sap?
