How Maple Syrup is made.
Which trees do we tap?
There are generally two types of maple trees that we tap for maple syrup, the Sugar Maple and the Red Maple.
How the sap flows.
In the fall live cells in the maple trees start storing sugar (sucrose) in the form of starch. This starch serves as an energy source during the winter when the plant is dormant and cannot produce more sugar through photosynthesis. When spring comes the plants start converting starches back to sugar and move them up to start leaf growth.
Tapping the tree.
Tapping usually is weather dependent. Many maple syrup producers go off past experience and the weather. We choose trees that are healthy and at least 10 inches in diameter. Each tap hole must be at least 6 inches away from the previous year so as not to interfere with the tap hole scar.
It takes approximately 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup.
Sap Collection.
Producers of the past relied on buckets and hand gathering. Modern and larger producers gather sap in tubing. From the tree, the sap runs through a tap down a drop and into a lateral line. From the lateral line it will flow into a larger mainline that empties into a storage take, either to be delivered to the sugarhouse or pumped.
Vacuum.
Applying vacuum to the tubing system increases production. Vacuum is measure in inches of mercury and for every inch there is a 5-7% more yield.
Vacuum transfer equipment called releasers allow for the liquid to be separated from the vacuum and dump the sap into a tank below.
Reverse Osmosis.
Some sugar makers use a reverse osmosis membranes to separate out water from the sap to make a more sugar concentrate. This process makes the boiling down of the sap in the evaporator more efficient in time and materials.
Boiling it all down.
Maple sap flows in the the evaporator and through channels called flues. As the sap becomes denser it continues to push through the evaporator until it gets to the end. Maple syrup is drawn off when the temperature is 7.1 degrees above the boiling point of water.
Perfection.
We finish our maple syrup to perfection by using a hydrometer to adjust the density and then process it through a filter press. The filter press pulls out any minerals that have fallen out and are suspended. This gives us crystal clear syrup.