Originally aired during the week of March 26, 2001
Native Americans unlocked the sweet science of making maple syrup long before Europeans arrived in North America. There are many stories about how maple sugar was first discovered. An Iroquois legend has it that a chief of the tribe threw his tomahawk into a maple tree one late winter evening. The sap began to flow the next morning when he removed the tomahawk. Puzzled at the sweet taste, he collected some of the sap and had his venison streaks boiled in the stuff, resulting in that sweet maple taste. However the tradition began, native Americans in New England would set up "sugar camps" in early spring. Making V-shaped slashes in the tree trunk, they collected sap, often in gourds made from birch bark. The sap was collected into hollowed-out logs or clay pots and the liquid was boiled by dropping red-hot rocks into the container.
Yes, you too can make maple syrup, although you might find boiling it down in your kitchen creates a really sticky situation. Boiling often leaves a sugary residue on the stove that's hard to remove. And it takes about 35 gallons of maple sap to make one gallon of syrup. That means a lot of boiling, and that creates a lot of steam! No, unless you are also looking for an easy way to remove the wallpaper in your kitchen, your best bet is to take your operation outdoors. Even if you don't have a garage or a shed to establish an honest to goodness sugarhouse, you can make enough syrup to keep your family up to its ears in liquid gold for a year. It does take some planning, however. In his book Backyard Sugarin', Rink Mann suggests you'll need about half a cord of dry wood to boil down enough sap to make five gallons of syrup.
If money doesn't grow on trees, why does "grade A" maple syrup sell for $30 a gallon? Well, a big sugaring operation requires a lot of capital. But it is possible to produce enough syrup for your own use without spending a fortune. There are many kinds of maple trees, and they all yield sap. But sap from the sugar maple contains about 3% sugar, quite a bit more than in other species. Before you begin tapping, select trees that are at least 10 inches in diameter. For each additional six inches in diameter, you can add another tap. Use a 7/16" drill bit which is about the right size for the metal sap spouts available at most hardware stores. The hole should be 1 1/2 inches deep. Place the sprout in the hole, gently tap it into place with a hammer, and hang the bucket from the spout. Plastic milk bottles are good substitutes for the real metal buckets.
When making maple syrup, timing is everything. The sap in sugar maples runs best when daytime temperatures are above freezing and the mercury dips below 32 degrees at night. It takes four to five taps to produce enough sap for one gallon of syrup. In his book Backyard Sugarin', Rink Mann suggests that you'll have a better sap yield when the tap is set on the southern side of the tree, where the trunk is exposed to the sun. Boil as soon as you can - the sap should not sit for more than a few days because it can spoil. Galvanized or plastic trashcans can be used to store freshly gathered sap for short periods. Any deep metal pan that will hold at least five gallons of liquid will be needed to boil sap. Big baking pans or wash tubs are decent substitutes for evaporators. If you can smuggle a stainless lasagna pan out of the kitchen, that may also work. But don't say I told you.
We've been working all week, collecting sap from our sugarbush. But the excitement is just beginning! We can't just let that sap just sit around, no! Now we've gotta start boiling. A fireplace in the back yard, perhaps made from stones or cinder blocks, will work OK. Build a good hot fire and keep the pan uncovered - remember the idea is to boil off as much water as possible as quickly as possible and it will take at least 30 gallons of sap to produce a gallon of syrup. You'll notice the sap gradually darkening in color. Watch to be sure it doesn't boil over - some amateur sugarers like to "finish off" the boiling process in the kitchen, where they have more control over he heating source. A candy thermometer is useful to tell when the sap is really syrup. When the liquid is about 7 degrees above the boiling point for water (219 degrees) you've got liquid gold!
