How is Maple Syrup Made? Tapping Trees & Syrup Production
Reading Time: 8 minutes
How is maple syrup made? Learn the basics of tapping trees for maple syrup, the equipment and supplies needed, and syrup boiling and production.
by Everett Lindsey
I began this endeavor with nothing more than a whim and a prayer. I had no mentor to show me how to do it. It seemed easy: Put a tap (also called a spile) in a maple tree and hang a bucket.
There was more to it than this simple task, however. First, it meant identifying a maple tree. In summer, the tree has simple, three-lobed leaves. In winter, it’s a different story. You’ll need to look for trees with opposite branching while ruling out dogwood and ash. Ash has irregular grooved bark, and dogwood has a blocky bark.
You can tap boxelder trees, which are in the same family as the maple tree, but don’t combine this sap with your maple sap collection. The sap from the boxelder has a sorghum-like flavor that doesn’t taste as good.
I resorted to marking trees in autumn before the leaves fell. I’ve noted that some maples in different microclimates produce more sap. Sap can be obtained from any native maple, but the sugar maple produces a more concentrated sap in a larger yield. Trees that are exposed to the early warming spring sun, such as those on southern-facing slopes, produce more abundant sap.
Sugaring gives back twice: once in the pleasure derived from the activity and once in the syrup itself.
The sap flows when temperatures rise above freezing. The temperature change causes positive pressure, resulting in sap flow. Think of maples as having internal pipes that allow water flow. Sap flow occurs when the internal pressure in these pipes is greater than atmospheric pressure. In a good year, a tree stores more carbohydrates, which are starch converted to sugar called sucrose. So much of the tree’s production depends on its health, location, and the previous summer.
Making syrup requires boiling the water off the sap and getting to the desired sugar concentration. I’ve noted that sap from red or silver maples tends to be cloudier and requires longer to boil off the water.
Collecting maple syrup requires no cultivation, heavy equipment, or machinery. The tools necessary for producing it are relatively inexpensive.
We use taps made of metal or plastic. I prefer the metal taps, as we can reuse them nearly indefinitely. Just boil them clean after the collection process. We find it’s best to use a 5/16-inch tap. These are smaller than the older taps, and the smaller taps are better for the tree’s long-term health.
Tapping Trees for Maple Syrup
Selecting the right tree and size is essential. As a rule, a 9-inch tree can take one tap, an 18-inch tree two taps, and a 25-inch or greater tree three taps. Never put more than three taps in a tree. The diameter, not the circumference, measured at a height of 4-1/2 feet above the ground of the tree, determines the number of taps.
Deciding where and how to tap a tree is important, as the taps will stay in the tree for the duration of the maple syrup season. You need to drill into a healthy portion of the tree. Taps are generally located 2 to 4 feet above the ground. Drill with a 5/16 -inch bit and place colorful electrical tape at 1-1/2 inches from the tip of your bit to limit the depth of your drill. You want to see clear white sapwood. Sometimes I need to go 2 inches to get the white sapwood, but this is rare. Don’t blow in the hole, as this can introduce harmful bacteria.
The tap is best placed above a large root or below a large branch. The south or southwest sides are best due to the sun-warming effect. I drill slightly upward, 1 to 5 degrees, to promote a better flow. Use a rubber mallet to drive the tap in place. In a tree previously tapped, you can go 6 inches horizontally (4 inches above) or 12 inches vertically away from previous tap sites (that isn’t directly above). The taps are tapered to form a watertight seal, preventing the leaking of sap.
Tapping maple trees is entirely weather-dependent. Watch the weather closely, as each year is different. You’ll need daytime temperatures above freezing and nighttime freezing temperatures for the sap to flow. You need weather that has at least three days of these temperatures.
Drill only when the temperature is above freezing to avoid damage to the tree. Typical timing for me is mid-February until the end of March. However, each spring is unique, and you must be alert and able to adjust to the weather. Once the trees bud, you’re done. At budding, there are changes in the sap that cause it to have an unpleasant taste.
Some days, you’ll get very little sap, and others, a lot. One tap will generally produce 6 to 10 gallons in a season; some trees are better than others. Collect the sap each day and either process it immediately or freeze it. Some folks store it in containers covered with snow.
Equipment and Collection
I like the bucket system that has a tap with a bent metal hanger for the bucket. The metal hanger is placed on the tap after I drive it in with a rubber mallet. The bucket has a small hole that allows it to hang from the hanger, and a lid is attached. The lid has a metal rod that goes through an upper tube, which is the top part of the tap, and prevents the lid from blowing away.
On average, it takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup. I collect the sap and freeze it until I have the time to commence boiling. I noted that the water from the sap froze in the buckets overnight. I discarded these ice cakes and realized this eliminated some water I’d have to boil off, which proved to help process the sap.
I try to collect 60 gallons of sap to boil. I use additional clean 5-gallon buckets to freeze the sap until I have reached my goal. Fortunately, I have the freezer space. This allows me to plan and set aside 3 to 4 days to boil the sap.
Collecting the sap is usually a twice-a-day event, depending on the weather and the sap flow. It’s very common to see white moths in the sap, which I simply remove. During the morning collection, the water portion that freezes on the surface is discarded.
How is Maple Syrup Made: Time to Boil
You’ll consume a lot of time and fuel boiling sap down. It’s nice to have a modern flat pan with divided sections. These pans create more surface area for the boil and have a feed tank and sections that allow you to separate the sap as it becomes more concentrated.
However, I can’t afford this, so I use three-burner gas camp stoves with stainless steel pots that I’ve collected from garage sales and resale stores.
This process isn’t for the faint of heart; the weather is cold, and the sap should be boiled outside or in a shed. It creates a lot of steam and makes adjacent things sticky, but you’ll enjoy smelling the maple vapors as it boils down.
This does take a fair amount of liquefied petroleum gas (LP), and I hesitate to calculate the cost of my syrup. But in my mind, it’s priceless.
The sap initially looks like clear water. As it boils, it turns to a golden yellow or dark reddish-orange.
You have to remain attentive while this process is going on. Once, I left for a half hour, made maple syrup crystals, and ruined a pot. Don’t do this; it’s very disheartening. Fortunately, I had enough sap that year to make another batch of syrup.
The first year, I thought I needed to stay up all night boiling down the sap. I couldn’t handle that, so I shut it down at 10 p.m. and went to bed. However, I took what I’d concentrated and placed it in the refrigerator. Since then, I’ve learned that there are three concerns with stopping prematurely. First, if the sap isn’t concentrated enough or the temperature is very cold, it could freeze. Second, if the temperature is elevated, it could spoil. The third issue is that the maple syrup will have a darker color, which isn’t a concern for me, but others may not like this.
When to Finish Boiling?
I use a candy thermometer on the third most finished pot and heat it to 215 to 216 degrees Fahrenheit. The final processing boil is completed in the house. The syrup is done when the product is 7.1 to 7.5 degrees above your boiling point. We tried to get the syrup to 219.5 degrees F for the first two years, and we had issues with it boiling over. I’ve painfully learned by looking up our altitude that the boiling point here in our house is 211 degrees F. So, we needed to get to 218 degrees F to be “close enough.” When you reach this point, skim off any excess foam.
Some use a hydrometer to measure the density of the syrup. The “old-fashioned” way is to take a metal spoon and scoop some out. You trickle this back into the pot, looking to see if the last few drops are sticky. Also, taste it and see if it’s like the syrup you remember.
After boiling, you’ll need to filter the syrup. Filtering will help remove any debris and “sugar sand.” Be sure you buy the appropriate filters. Run warm water through the filter before using it.
We use an Orlon filter to fill jars and we soak it in hot water before use. The syrup should be 180 to 185 degrees F when pouring into jars, as cold syrup won’t pass through the filter. After your pint jars are filled, process them in a water bath canner for 10 minutes. Voila, 26 pints of priceless, shelf-stable maple syrup.
We’ve encountered the problem of “sugar sand” in canned maple syrup. As you boil off the moisture, you can concentrate the minerals. This is called the niter. You can attempt to avoid this by filtering three times: Once at the collection of the sap, another after the primary boil, and a final filter when you fill canning jars.
The good news is that even if your syrup contains niter, don’t worry. It’s safe to consume. You can reheat and filter the syrup to eliminate the sand if you want perfection. Pour off the clear syrup, reheat to 200 degrees F, and can again. The syrup will appear darker. After opening canned maple syrup, it must be refrigerated, or mold can develop. You can expect a storage life of 1 to 2 years, but it never lasts that long in our house.
Grandma Mabel’s Potato Pancakes
Ingredients:
- 3 cups of shredded potatoes (some use a hand grater)
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1/4 cup milk
Instructions:
Squeeze the moisture out of the potatoes in a colander. Blend milk, eggs, flour, baking powder, and 1 cup of potatoes. Then, add the rest of the potatoes and blend a bit longer. Don’t overblend. The pancake will have a better and tastier texture if you don’t pulverize.
After cooking to your preferred size and shape, pour your homemade maple syrup over the top, and enjoy!
Everett Lindsey lives with his family in southwest Wisconsin’s beautiful, driftless area. He’s been fortunate to have a dairy operation in the past and now a beef enterprise and a large garden. Everett’s a jack of all trades and master of none. He pursues a simplified, sustainable, self-reliant lifestyle and enjoys writing about this pursuit. Every day is a blessing and adventure.
Originally published in the March/April 2025 issue of Countryside and Small Stock Journal and regularly vetted for accuracy.
