MSU Extension 4-H Environmental & Outdoor Education

Maple syrup is the first agricultural product of the year and maple sugaring is an activity that people have been participating in for thousands of years! Anyone with a few simple tools can enjoy the process and tasty result of collecting and boiling maple sap into maple syrup.

Although large maple syrup producers often use advanced equipment such as Reverse Osmosis (RO) machines and vacuum pumps, the process of turning maple sap into maple syrup is actually very simple.

The process

The maple-sugaring season begins in late winter or early spring, when temperatures fluctuate from above freezing during the day to below freezing at night. This creates pressure within the tree that allows the sap to flow from the roots to the buds as the tree is waking from its winter dormancy. When a tree is tapped, the sap can be gathered as it moves within the tree. Sap moves up and down in a tree just underneath the bark, in tissues called the xylem and phloem.

The first step in making maple syrup is to tap the trees. A hole is drilled no more than 2.5 inches deep, using a 5/16” bit. A spile (or tap) is inserted into this hole, and a bucket is attached to collect the sap. Some larger maple syrup operations use a system of tubing to carry sap from a group of trees to a bigger storage container. Depending on the temperature changes between night and day, there can be large variations in the amount of sap dripping out. A good rate is about one drip per second.

Once the trees are tapped and the sap is collected, making maple syrup requires evaporating a large amount of water from the sap to concentrate the sugars. The sap from a Sugar Maple is typically only about two percent sugar. Boiling the sap until it reaches about 219 degrees Fahrenheit (seven degrees Fahrenheit above the boiling point of water), concentrates the sugars and increases the density of the liquid. Boiling is typically done on a specially designed maple syrup evaporator, but a turkey fryer or even a kettle over a campfire also works. It takes around 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup.

Once the syrup reaches the correct temperature and density, it can be filtered and bottled. The syrup can be tested using a hydrometer or by checking the temperature and observing how the liquid “sheets” off a spoon. “Sheeting” refers to the way in which finished syrup slides off a spoon in a single sheet, rather than in drops. Syrup can be filtered using orlon filters, available at any maple syrup equipment provider, and hot packed at a temperature 180- 190-degrees Fahrenheit into mason jars or other food-safe containers.

Learning more

For those interested in learning more and trying it out themselves, Michigan State University Extension offers these tips and suggestions:

• Check out additional maple syrup resources from MSU and MSU Extension.
• Attend a Michigan Maple Weekend event to tour a maple syrup operation and see the process in action.
• Purchase a starter kit from a maple syrup equipment supplier or assemble your own. Visit your local hardware and farm stores in February and March. With the increasing interest in maple-sugaring as a hobby, many of these businesses stock maple-sugaring supplies at the start of the season.
• Start small! Even tapping one tree and boiling sap briefly on a stove will produce a change in the flavor of the sap. Collecting sap and using it to make tea or coffee is another way to get a taste of the experience. One tip: don’t boil sap all the way to syrup indoors, as it creates a sticky mess! It can also produce a lot of humidity in your home, which can be bad for paint or wallpaper.
• Get the whole family involved! Maple-sugaring can be a great way to spend time together as a family and recover from winter’s cabin fever. Kids love checking the buckets each day to see how much sap has collected.
• Track how much sap you collect each day, along with the high and low temperatures. Try to determine if there are any patterns.
• Notice if some trees produce more sap than others. Maple syrup lore says that trees that get more sunlight can produce more sap, or sap with a higher sugar content.

Whether you decide to tap one tree or a whole forest, maple-sugaring might just become a hobby you look forward to each year!