Sugaring, the art of making maple syrup, has been practiced for thousands of years. Many state that once you've done it once, you'll want to do it again and again. Read on to learn how to turn maple tree sap into a sweet and delicious syrup.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Tapping Trees
Step 1. Make sure the tree is ready to be tapped
Maple season occurs during spring when temperatures at night fall below 0 degrees Celsius and during the day it starts to warm up. This causes the sap to drain from the tree.
The maple season ends when such a temperature pattern ends. At this time, the color of the sap will become darker. When the sap is collected after the season is over, it will have a low sugar content and an unpleasant taste
Step 2. Select the trees
There are many types of Maple trees. Some types have different sugar content; higher is better. Sugar Maple trees have the highest sugar content. The maple tree has distinctive leaves with five pointed branches. Typically, trees must be at least 25 cm in diameter to be tapped.
Step 3. Buy a rubber tap
These are also known as spikes. The easiest way to buy is through online. Most of the taps are the same, but the collection containers differ slightly. Decide what style of collection container you will use: a bag, a sling bucket, a bucket on the ground, or a network of tubes (usually experienced syrup makers are used). If you don't want to buy a bucket, a clean milk jug can also be used. Avoid buying and installing tube networks if you have never tapped before.
Step 4. Perform tapping on the tree
Drill a hole in the side of the tree that receives the most light, above a large root or under a large stem. The hole should be as big as your tapper. It should be 30 to 120 cm above the ground and 1.25 cm longer than your tapper. The hole should be slightly angled down.
- An electric drill can be used for this step.
- You can also drill holes using a hammer and a long nail; tap the nail, then remove it.
Step 5. Attach the collection container
The container should be closed so that rainwater and insects do not enter.
Step 6. Tap more trees
160 liters of sap yields only 40 liters of syrup, so the maple syrup sold in stores is very expensive. The number of trees that should be tapped for beginners is 7 to 10; You'll get 40 liters from each tree each season, so you'll get several dozen liters of maple syrup.
Step 7. Collect the sap
For several weeks, check the collection container every few days. Transfer the sap to a covered bucket or other large container for storage. Keep collecting sap until the season is over. Now you are ready to turn the sap into syrup.
Method 2 of 3: Boiling the Sap
Step 1. Strain the sap
If you have a little sap, this is easiest to do with a coffee filter. This is only to remove deposits, insects, or stalks from the sap. You can also reach inside and remove any other large debris with a slotted spoon. The sap will be filtered again later, after being boiled.
Step 2. Turn on the fire to boil the sap
The syrup is made by removing the water from the sap, until only the sugar is left. The sap contains only about 2% sugar. You can use an evaporator, which is a machine specially made for boiling sap into syrup, or a less expensive alternative like a hot fire (you can also boil it in a saucepan on the stove, but you'll be evaporating so much water that the whole house will be full of water). water vapor). To start the fire to boil the sap, follow these steps:
- Prepare one or more pots measuring 19 liters.
- Dig a shallow hole in the ground when you want to make a fire.
- Make a box of bricks around the hole. It's just big enough to accommodate all your pots. Set up the grill mat in the box to place the pan, leaving enough room under the grill mat to start the fire.
- Turn on the heat under the grill to heat the pans.
Step 3. Put the sap into the pots
Fill the pot until full. The fire will reach the bottom of the pot and boil the sap. As the water evaporates, add more sap. Keep on the heat and add the sap to the pot until the pan is half full with the remaining sap.
- The process of boiling the sap into syrup can take hours, and you can't stop watching because the maple syrup can burn. The flame should be hot enough to keep the sap simmering, and you should keep adding the sap when the solution is low – which could mean staying up all night.
- You can hang a coffee can with a handle over a sap pot. Make a hole in the bottom for the sap to drip a little at a time. That way, you don't have to keep an eye on its progress all the time.
Step 4. Check the temperature
When you're done adding the sap and there's less of the solution remaining, use a candy thermometer. The stew will stop at around 100 degrees Celsius during boiling, but once most of the water has evaporated the temperature will rise. Remove the liquid from the heat when it reaches 104 degrees Celsius.
- If you remove the syrup too late, the solution will thicken or burn, so make sure you watch carefully.
- You can finish indoors if you want to be able to control the heat and temperature up close.
Method 3 of 3: Finishing the Syrup
Step 1. Strain the finished syrup
When the sap is boiled, it produces niter, or "sugar sand." Niter will settle to the bottom if not filtered. The strainer will keep out the nitrite and other materials that get into the syrup, such as ash from fires or insects that enter. Place a few sheets of cheesecloth over a large bowl and pour the syrup over it; You need to filter several times to get rid of all the niter.
- Strain the syrup while it's still hot, or the syrup will stick to the cheesecloth.
- Special cotton filters made so that they don't absorb too much syrup can be purchased online.
Step 2. Pour the syrup into a sterile container
A glass jar can be used, or you can reuse an old maple syrup container used for boiling. Immediately tighten the jar lid.
Step 3. Remove the bugs from the tree at the end of the season
Do not cover the holes because they will close by itself.
Tips
- Tapping does not hurt the tree; trees have hundreds of liters of sap flowing in them every year and each tapper will on average produce 38 liters of sap in a year.
- Evaporators are the fastest, cleanest and most efficient way to boil sap, but they are very expensive.
- If syrup is going to be canned, see the article on how to canned food.
- At the start of most sugar season, the snow will be "sharp" or "shallow" rather than smooth or powdery.
Warning
- Boil the sap as soon as possible. The sap will go stale. During the early season, the sap can last a week at most.
- Tapping trees devalues trees when they are sold as logs.
- Be careful not to spill the syrup as it boils. It's a good idea to boil the sap on a stove that can be turned off quickly.
- Boil outdoors; liters of water vapor can damage your home. It's possible to boil indoors, but you have to let the steam out.
- Tap your own tree or get permission from the tree owner.
