For Starters

When I started syruping I just tapped two trees and decided to do my boil on my propane grill. This is fine for a first-timer if you just want to experience the process before diving in. I put two stainless steel steam table pans on my grill:

BTW, the thermometers on the trays in the above photo are totally unnecessary. I put them on for a photo-op. Accurate temperature measurement is only needed when you do the finishing. Once things were boiling I added some sap every now and then to keep the level consistent. You will go through an entire 20 lb. tank of propane this way. Either have a spare on hand or be prepared to shut everything down while you go to get a refill.

Even my first foray yielded a fair amount of tasty real maple syrup:

Wood is Good

Boiling 10 (or less) gallons of sap with a 20 lb. canister of propane is OK. You’ll get your 1-2 pints of syrup for the cost of a propane cylinder or two. So you’re at about $15 per pint – about what real maple syrup sells for in the grocery store. If you want to go bigger, you’ll want to go cheaper and that means wood.

Supplies:

• Wood for fire – preferably hardwood: birch, ash, oak – for a long steady burn
• Stainless Steel vessel(s) for cooking – steam table pans work great, available at restaurant supply stores
• Bucket or barrel to dispense sap
• Clear tubing
• Copper tubing
• Valve for copper tubing

To build your fire you can get as creative as you’d like. My uncle props up his steam trays with cinder blocks and just builds a fire directly underneath. It doesn’t have to be pretty, it just has to be manageable.

I found an old barrel stove for cheap on craigslist. I cut two sections out of the top of the barrel where I could insert the stainless steel trays. In the stove, I added some fire bricks to the bottom of the barrel. I bought two cheap fireplace grates that sit against the edge of the barrel and hold the wood more in the middle of the barrel. I’ve found boiling goes faster when there’s good oxygen feeding the fire from below, and when the flames lick the bottom of the pans. Find some free wood on craigslist, preferably hardwood, but it really doesn’t matter as long as you have enough and it’s cheap or free. Here’s what it looks like in action:

This what’s going on in this photo: I put a bottling bucket from my homebrew supplies on top of a ladder. There’s a spigot on the bucket that connects to come clear tubing. For my rig, I added a T to split the flow in two. The clear tubing then slips over some 1/4″ (outside diameter) copper tubing. Each length of copper tubing has a valve that I installed inline so I can meter the flow of sap. I usually strap the copper tubes to the ladder with twist ties or something to hold them in place. Each copper tube feeds one stainless steel tray. I fill the bottling bucket periodically using the smaller 2 gallon bucket. Once I’ve got the fire going well and the sap flow is keeping up nicely, I only have to check on things every 15-30 minutes.

Other “Where’s Waldo” items in the photo: a baby monitor (to keep the family unit in-tact) and a miniature pincer with a cone.

Finishing

Whether you’re using propane or wood, once you’ve boiled your sap down to a point where it will all fit in one normal-sized kitchen cooking vessel, it’s time to go inside. This is when an accurate candy thermometer is necessary. The syrup is done when it reaches 7°F above boiling. At sea level that would be 219°F. Here in Minnesota, I let mine go to 221°F for a little extra insurance. You also want to stir the syrup when you think it’s almost done – there may be a hot spot in the pot. You want to make sure all of the syrup has reached the desired temperature.

Put your finished syrup into jars while it’s hot. Strain the syrup through a filter to remove any particulates. I got a cone filter from Sugar Bush Supply which is specifically for syrup, but you could use a few layers of cheese cloth. The hot syrup will seal the lids shut and you can then store them at room temperature for a year (or longer). Real maple syrup must be refrigerated after opening.

Bon Appetit!

See Also:

• Home Made Maple Syrup Part 1 – Sap Collection
• Home Made Maple Syrup Part 3 – Competition

• Maple Tree(s)
• Drill with 7/16″ bit
• Collection spout(s) called a spile
• Clear tubing to fit each tap
• A collection bucket for each tap
• A bigger collection bucket to hold collected sap

How it works

It probably goes without saying, but you need to live in an area with a 4-season climate to collect sap for syrup. When it is below 32°F outside, the sap is stored in the roots of the tree. When it thaws, the sap moves up the tree trunk and into the branches. Several consecutive days where it is below 32°F at night and above 32°F during the day will create a pumping action from the roots to the branches for the best sap yield.

Identifying trees

If you don’t know which trees are maples and which ones aren’t, you might wait to start this adventure next season. It is easy to identify maples when they are in full leaf, but unless you know the bark well, I wouldn’t suggest tapping any trees of unknown species.

Sourcing Materials

Trees – you don’t need to live out in the country to make maple syrup. Even if you only have one or two productive trees, they can yield enough sap for a beginner to get started. My first year I only tapped two trees and I did it late. I got 5 gallons of sap out of each tree, which each boiled down to a pint. Those two pints of syrup lasted my family until August (5 months).

The trees you tap should be at least 10″ in diameter. By measuring the circumference, you can determine the diameter.

The circumference divided by Pi will give the diameter, which means for 10″ in diameter the tree’s circumference should be at least 31.4″. I call it good with 30″ around for one tap and 60″ around for two on the same tree.

Taps – You can purchase these at farm supply stores such as Fleet Farm.

Tubing – You can get this at a hardware store or even a pet shop with aquarium tubing. Bring your taps to size it up.

Buckets – I specifically got 2 gallon plastic collection buckets at Home Depot. They’re for making custom paint mixes. They’re just the right size to hang on the taps. You’ll want bigger buckets to move the sap to at the end of the day. I keep a couple 5 gallon buckets in a garage fridge. My uncle that lives in the country taps about a dozen trees and found some 55-gallon plastic barrels on craigslist to store his sap.

Tapping Trees

Use a drill and a 7/16″ bit to drill into the trunk of the tree 2-4 feet above ground. Drill in 2 1/2 to 3 inches – slightly upwards so the sap can easily run down. Remember, your tree should be at least 30″ around (10″ in diameter). If your tree is closer to 60″ around, you can put two taps on the same tree.

Hammer the tap into the hole and add a length of tubing.

In the lid of each of my collection buckets, I drilled a hole where the collection tube could go. When I hang the buckets, I only snap down one side of the lid (opposite the hole). This is because the lids are f#*king hard to fully snap down. It also creates a situation where if rainwater were to pool on the lid, it wouldn’t go into the bucket.

To really prevent rainwater from getting into the collection buckets, I punch a hole in a plastic bag and put one over each tap.

Then you can hang the bucket and put the bag over it and have a somewhat weather-proof setup. Watch out for nosy squirrels or windy days, they may knock your bucket and bags down.

I’ll cover the boil-down later, but will warn that there is a time limit on freshness in regards to color and flavor. The document I referenced gives about 5 days of storage leeway: 2-3 days in the collection bucket, plus an additional 2 days in refrigerator temperatures before boiling. The longer you store it before the boil, the darker the syrup will be.

My experience has been that you can keep fresh sap in the fridge for about 2 weeks without ill effects besides a darker syrup. I kept some sap in the fridge last year for 3-4 weeks, and it boiled down to a strangely sour syrup – inedible! Better to do several small boils during the syrup season than try to do a big one at the end.

See Also:

• Home Made Maple Syrup Part 2 – The Cook
• Home Made Maple Syrup Part 3 – Competition