Compton's Encyclopedia: Maple Syrup and Sugar The North American Indians discovered the secret of tapping maple trees. For nearly two hundred years maple sugar was the cheapest and sometimes the only readily accessible sweetener available to American colonists. It is said that trees planted by the Pilgrims in 1620 are still giving sap today. The sweet-water sap from which syrup is made is different from the circulatory sap of the growing tree; it is a special seasonal secretion. When the tree is dormant, the sap will flow from any wound in the sapwood, such as a taphole, each time a period of freezing is followed by a period of thawing. Normal tapping does not deplete the tree's resources. It removes only about 8 percent of the tree's sugar, which is easily replaced the following year. Although the sap contains 1.5 to 3 percent solids, mostly in the form of sucrose (a type of sugar), it does not have the color or flavor of maple syrup until after it has been processed. For a good run of sap, the weather should be alternately freezing and thawing; if it remains either warm or cold, the flow of sap slows or stops. Where the climate is favorable, the sap begins to run in very early spring anytime between mid-February and mid-April. It may flow for as little as five days or as long as six weeks, depending on seasonal conditions. To tap the tree, farmers drill holes into the bark at waist level. They drill one to three holes, depending on the size and sturdiness of each tree. Spouts are then driven into the holes. Some farmers have a pipeline system leading from the trees to storage tanks. Most farmers, however, hang pails on the spouts to collect the dripping sap. The sap may run swiftly or slowly, and the amount of sap produced varies from tree to tree. For a good tree, the flow ranges from 120 to 400 drops a minute, which amounts to an average of 35 gallons (132 liters) of sap per season. Boiled down, this yields about 1 gallon (3.8 liters) of syrup or 8 pounds (3.6 kilograms) of sugar. Maple syrup is made by boiling down the sap. Constant watch is kept to monitor the syrup's thickness. Impurities are strained out, and the syrup is canned quickly so that it will not become soured by bacteria. Maple sugar is obtained by boiling down the syrup until enough liquid has evaporated to cause the residue to granulate. Maple sugar and maple syrup are exclusively North American products, simply because the European climate is not conducive to substantial sap running. The United States output comes chiefly from Vermont, New York, Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Maine. Most of Canada's production comes from Quebec and Ontario. My compliments, Pat O'Neal --------------------------------------------------------- Excerpted from Compton’s Interactive Encyclopedia Copyright © 1994, 1995 Compton’s NewMedia, Inc.