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Making Maple Syrup
Making maple syrup is a tradition in Minnesota and maple syrup making can be a fun family project.
Several species of maple trees grow in Minnesota. Though all produce sap suitable for the production of maple syrup,
two species of sugar maple (acer saccharum) and black maple (acer nigrum), are the source of sap for most commercial maple production. Sap suitable for conversion into syrup may also be obtained from red and silver maples, though such sap usually has a lower sugar content.
Several places in Minnesota offer opportunities to learn to make your own maple syrup.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources sponsors many programs for families. This downloadable document will give you a wonderful introduction to the making of maple syrup.
Just when winter is leaving Minnesota and the first spring weather appears, the sap begins to run.
A great cure for a winter of staying in is getting out in the woods to make some maple syrup that you can use in on your pancakes and in maple syrup recipes all year long.
Some Maple Syruping Basics:
Maple sap runs best when daytime temperatures are in the high 30s to mid-40s and overnight temperatures are below freezing. This cycle of above-freezing days and below-freezing nights needs to continue for several days, although nature occasionally has been known to provide a good run under less perfect conditions.
Some sap may flow as early as January or as late as May, but the typical time for a "good" sap run, and for making maple syrup in Minnesota, is March 15 to April 20. Sap is converted to syrup by boiling off most of the water content of the sap, which leaves the sugar and flavor behind. It usually takes 30-40 gallons of sap from a sugar maple to produce one gallon of pure maple syrup.
Equipment Needed to Gather Maple Sap and Make Maple Syrup:
A drill with a 7/16- or 1/2-inch bit for drilling tap-holes in maple trees.
A metal or plastic spout for each tap-hole.
A collection bucket, plastic bag or tubing line for each tap-hole.
A large kettle and a heat source for boiling down the sap. The size depend on how much sap you intend to boil.
A large-scale thermometer calibrated at least 15 degrees above the boiling point of water.
Filtering material that can be used for filtering finished syrup while still hot.
Storage containers for the finished syrup.
Beginning in early March, Minnesota State Parks will be hosting programs to show you how to tap, collect and process tree sap into syrup.
Several species of maple trees grow in Minnesota. Though all produce sap suitable for the production of maple syrup,
two species of sugar maple (acer saccharum) and black maple (acer nigrum), are the source of sap for most commercial maple production. Sap suitable for conversion into syrup may also be obtained from red and silver maples, though such sap usually has a lower sugar content.
