Maple Syrup Making by René Kriek

Can all maple trees be tapped?

• Sugar Maple – highest sugar content

• Black Maple – high sugar content

• Red Maple – good quality syrup

• Silver Maple – lowest sugar

content

There are many other trees that can

be tapped for syrup such as birch,

hickory and sycamore.

Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum)

• Most preferred tree to make maple syrup

• Can be found from southeastern Canada all

the way down to Tennessee and as far west

as Minnesota. Does not tolerate extreme wet

or dry climates.

• Leaves are 3-5 deeply cut lobes, usually 5.

• Mature tree can reach up to 80 feet in height.

• Displays brilliant colors of yellow, red,

crimson in the fall.

Sugar maple leaf with 5 lobes

When do you tap maple trees?

• Depending on the region – mid February to

mid March

• Temperatures has to be around a high of

40/45 during the day and below freezing at

night.

This freeze/thaw cycle is what pushes the sap

from the roots up to the trunk as it gets

ready for budding in the spring.

Tap when tree is at least 10 inches in diameter.

Which tools do you need for

tapping?

• Drill 5/16 or 7/16

• Clear plastic hose

• Adapter

• Food grade bucket/jugs/bottles with lid

• Hammer

• Order complete tapping kit off Amazon

Basics of drilling

• Drill on the south side of tree – it’s warmer with better sap flow

• Drill about 1- 1.5 inches into the tree at a slight downward angle.

• Drill about 3-6 feet off the ground.

• Trees 10-18 inches diameter = 1 tap

• Trees 18-32 inches = up to 3 taps

• Trees 32 or more = up to 6 taps

• Don’t repeat same tap holes year after year

Karen Ribble

drilling away.

She inspired

me to start

tapping maple

trees.

Thank you

Karen!

Here you can

see 2 taps,

connected by

an adaptor

flowing into

one bucket.

Anyone can tap a tree! Get the kids involved!

Notice the maple water flowing down the tube!

Delicious,

nutritious maple

water!

Pure maple sap aka maple water. I tapped

about 7 gallons from one tree.

Once you start

boiling, you

wait…

…and wait…

Everyone came to help!

Even though it

was a rainy

day…

Hmmm… smells like bacon! I mean,

maple syrup!!

As the

liquid boils

down, you

add more

and

more…

You want to

cook outside

due to the

massive

amounts of

steam the sap

produces as it

cooks down.

Once the sap is

boiled down to a

light brown gold,

it’s time to finish

cooking inside.

Most of the water

has been

evaporated so

steam isn’t an

issue at this point.

Strain using

coffee

filter

Ash…

Wood…

Bugs…

Continue boiling

strained liquid.

Bring to a hard boil

and use a candy

thermometer to

check temperature.

Water boils at 212

degrees F but the

syrup needs to

measure 220F.

Remove from heat

and store!

Enjoy your hard

work!