M is for Maple Syrup

This time of year, even though the calendar says it's Spring, its got a long way to go till Spring gets to us here in the North Country! There is still snow on the ground and the skiing is great! While my wife and I travel back and forth from ski mountains, we pass many active "sugar houses" with steam rising from their cupolas where the maple tree sap is being boiled down to become maple syrup. It seems there are tapped maple trees in everyone's yard, with hanging buckets or plastic pipelines at every turn. We pass groves of maple trees called "sugar bushes" where large amounts of sap are collected. (A grove is measured by the number of taps, not the number of trees or acres. So, these groves are of many sizes.)

There is no set time for sugaring in the North Country. Each year is different depending upon weather conditions and snow pack. St. Patrick's Day is when most people who collect maple sap start boiling. However, last year the boiling got started on February 22. The best sap flows start when the night time temperatures are in the low 20's and the daytime temperatures are in the 40's to 50's for a number of consecutive days. The longer the nights stay below freezing, the longer the sap will flow the next day. For good sap production you must have these alternating warm and cold temperatures. This year is getting a late start because of the constant cold temperatures. Mid-April will most likely see the end of "sugar weather" for this year. That is why it is impossible to predict the time and the production of a maple crop each year.

The process of making maple syrup takes time and energy. First the trees must be tapped. Trees that are tapped are usually about a foot in diameter and have one or two taps.

Tapping does not harm the trees. A tap is made by drilling a hole in the tree about 7/16" to 1/2" in diameter and three inches deep. Into the hole is placed a snug-fitting spout called a "spile." The sap drips from the "spile" into a hanging bucket or, more popular these days, a plastic pipe line. Using a plastic pipe has replaced buckets in many areas. The pipe can connect as many as 500 or more taps and the sap is then gravity fed to a collection tank or to the "sugar house." Using a plastic pipe system eliminates the work of going from tree to tree and emptying the buckets into tanks to be drawn by horses or oxen back to the "sugar house" on sleds.

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