Maple Sugaring

Be sure to wait until the temperature stays consistently below freezing (32 F) at night and above freezing during the day. This is when the sap flows. If you tap too early in the season, the hole will seal up and will need to be drilled again.

The best time to tap for most of Missouri is usually middle to late January or early February.

Make sure your sugar maple tree is at least ten inches in diameter at breast height (about 4 feet above the ground) before you tap it. If it’s any smaller, you could harm or even kill the tree.

A single large tree can take up to three taps (never more than three in one tree), but over-tapping can harm the tree. It’s estimated that just one tap will produce the greatest results without harming the tree.

Tap or spile (a spigot used for taking sap from a tree)

• You can buy or make your tap from anything that fits tight and directs sap into a bucket.
• Consider a short length of PVC pipe, a piece of hose or even a piece of broom handle with a hole drilled through the length of it.

Drill

• Use a battery-powered drill and a bit that matches the size of your tap or spile for a tight fit.
• Drill about 1-1/2 to 2 inches into the xylem (water carrying layer of wood) of the tree.
• Smaller holes and taps work just as well as larger, and they heal faster.

Container to catch the sap

• Milk jugs, camping water jugs or buckets from a home improvement store work well.
• To find ready-made supplies, search “maple sugar supplies” or “maple sugar suppliers” on the Internet.

This depends on the weather and the size of your bucket. In general, the greater the difference between day and nighttime temperatures, the greater the sap flow.

• If you have a smaller bucket (1- or 2-gallon size), you may need to check and empty it several times a day during high sap flow.
• A 3-gallon bucket will accommodate a single day of good flow, is manageable, and not too heavy on the tree.
• In general, if the temperature doesn’t warm above freezing, you get the day off from collecting.

Making syrup is a piece of cake … or pancake, that is! All you do is heat the sap and let evaporation do all the work.

• As the water evaporates, the sugar remains and becomes more and more concentrated.
• Once your water-and-sugar mix nears 67 percent sugar and 33 percent water, the temperature will reach 219 F. Congratulations, you’ve just reached the syrup stage!
• Don’t forget to filter! Pour your hot syrup through cheesecloths or commercial filters to remove “niter” (potassium nitrate) and the other minerals in tree sap that can make syrup taste bad and are not healthy for small children.

We recommend canning your syrup for a shelf life of one year or more. Otherwise, use up your syrup soon after finishing and keep left overs in the refrigerator. If you leave it out too long, mold may develop. Some people will reheat moldy syrup, filter out the mold, add a little water and then refinish with boiling and evaporation to make it edible again.

You can buy maple syrup (the lighter the flavor and color, the higher the price) at most grocery stores. But anyone can go out and buy maple syrup. Only the dedicated few can claim the title of “maple sugar farmer.” Step up and take the challenge!

Get outdoors with your family and friends this winter to take part in history, conservation, and natural food production! The sweet reward is worth it!