Most of the evaporation is typically done on an evaporator in a sugarhouse or, in our case, over a fire outside. Generally speaking, it will take 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon syrup (all maple trees produce sap with different sugar content so this number varies). Once you collect the sap you just need to boil it down until the maple syrup boils at 219 degrees Fahrenheit (~104 Celsius) at sea level. We do offer some of our own resources, including a simple and inexpensive method for tapping trees and collecting sap: Red maples are also supposed to be decent for syrup. We tap all species of maple on our land, a majority of which are silver and sugar maples.

There are many books out there and even more websites, but don’t be too overwhelmed, the process is not too complex. Hi! We don’t have any books but have learned about syrup by researching online and our own experience. You’ve taken the first step to making your own syrup, welcome to the club!! We have the rest of the steps in our book, which is a complete guide to making maple syrup without spending too much on fancy equipment. Now get out those snowshoes and see how many maples you can find! Sooner than you know it the days will be above freezing and the sap will be flowing! In summary: To identify a maple tree in the winter, you have to confirm opposite branching and paired buds, and then look at the bark to rule out the ash and flowering dogwood. Original url: Shared under Creative Commons BY. Dogwood bark has a cool blocky look that reminds me of alligators: Photographer: Charles Hoysa, Virginia Cooperative Extension,. I’ve never found a dogwood near me, but the key characteristic to look for in winter is the bark. A typical example of Ash bark is shown below. Usually one look at the bark and you can tell it’s not a maple.

The branches of an ash look quite different from a maple despite the similar branching pattern, and the bark is fairly easily distinguished from maple with its diamond pattern. There are other trees and plants with opposite branching, but I don’t think they’re an issue since they either don’t look like a big tree or they don’t typically grow in the regions where syrup is made. If you can identify a tree has opposite branching and think it could possibly be a maple, there are really only two trees you need to rule out: Ash and Dogwood. There are only a handful of trees with opposite branching, which is great news for us maple lovers. This is why identifying the branching pattern is so important! Those all look pretty darn different to me! I confuse the bark of maple with oak all the time, but luckily oak doesn’t have opposite branching. Maples are diverse, and can be smooth when the tree is younger and can get rather shaggy as it ages. Identifying opposite branching is only one component to identifying maples. Identify Maples by Bark and rule out other opposite branching trees Note: Not EVERY branch on a maple will have an opposite branch pair since they can break off or fail to thrive for various reasons, but you will begin to recognize the way a tree with paired branches look versus alternate branching with some practice. Maples are unique from many other deciduous trees in that it buds in pairs and has opposite branches (branches come out at the same point on the parent branch on opposite sides), like this: Identify Maples by the branches: Opposite Branching and Paired buds But how on earth can we do it without the lovely leaves in the winter? Although it might be hard to tell at first, maple trees have two very distinguishing features: bark and branching patterns. You just need to see the leaves and you’re done. Summer identification is a piece of cake for most people. If you find this blog post helpful, get ready–the rest of what you need to know is in this book. The book is loaded with everything you need to know, including easy to understand, cheap strategies and detailed plans. We published a complete guide to help absolutely ANYONE harvest sap from maple trees and turn it into pure, wonderful syrup. It is absolutely possible to ID the maples on your land in winter so you can make your own syrup.īefore you start: Check out our complete guide for harvesting sap and making syrup If you did not identify them in the Summer when the iconic maple leaves were easy to spot, don’t fret. For anyone new to sugaring on their land, the first step is knowing which trees are good maples for tapping. We like to plan out the maple tapping around Valentine’s Day.

Hard maple tree types