The Joy of Backyard Maple Sugaring

A friend recently asked about the advisability of tapping Silver Maples for sap. While I've only been at this two seasons and do not claim to be an expert, here are my thoughts on that question and making maple syrup in general: 

Sugar maples have a ratio of 43:1 (sap boiled to make syrup) while Norway Maples (what I started with) are a wapping 60:1! I'm honestly not sure if the other ones I'm tapping are sugar maples or red or silver maples. There are good books on the process, though I mostly just read the chapter on maple sugaring in David K. Leff's The Last Undiscovered Place and enjoyed his writing so much I got his book on maple sugaring (Maple Sugaring: Keeping it Real in New England), though it's more about the history and culture than it is a practical how-to guide. There's also good stuff on youtube. 

Basically though, you tap when you start having days that are consistently getting above 40° in late winter with nights still dropping below 32°; this stimulates the trees to start sap production. I hate pointing people to Amazon for things, but that's where I found the spiles I use. Get some 5-gal buckets (they don't have to be "food grade" just clean out whatever ones you use--in fact I started using kitty-litter buckets since I can get them free from a friend), and some clear vinyl tubing from Lowes (or local hardware--unfortunately we don't have local hardware here!). Use the spile to size the tube. Get it long enough to get from where you drill an apx. 2" deep hole in the tree (at a slight upward angle as the bit goes in) about 4' off the ground, down to a hole you drill in the side of the bucket. Keep a lid on the bucket to keep debris out of the sap. 

(At right: the boys showing off our kitty-litter maple-sap buckets, and our Norway Maple, nicknamed "Hagrid") 

Once you've collected several gallons of sap you boil it off. This is best done outside as it makes surfaces, walls, etc. get a bit sticky if you boil off gallons of sap inside. The first year we balanced a chafing dish on a fire pit and that took FOREVER. 

(at left: our original evaporator setup: a chafing dish on a "smokeless" fire pot)

(below: the drum, ground to receive the chafing dishes)

The second year I built an evaporator: I bought a metal 55 gal drum on FB marketplace (I found one new for $20 but that's rare: you don't need a new one though, just one in good condition). I used a kit like this. Then I lined the base of the stove with bricks for insulation (you don't have to do that; they just recommend dumping a bag of playground sand so the fire isn't directly on the metal which will eventually burn through). Then I used my two donor chafing dishes as templates to grind two holes in the top of the barrel, so the fire is being applied directly to the bottom of the dishes. This is SO MUCH faster than the other system, and well worth the $100 investment; but for your first season to just try it out you could make do with whatever sort of fire pit you have, or even use a gas grill. If you can find a way to get two vats boiling it speeds it up since adding cold syrup to boiling syrup stops the evaporation until it heats up to boiling again. 

(left: the brick lining of the drum)

(the new two-chafing dish, barrel-stove evaporator)

You can also build a cement block evaporator like the one pictured here. The people who built it have a good how-to with videos. 

You keep boiling until the liquid is syrup. I honestly don't remember how we knew when we hit it the first year: I think I knew pretty accurately how much Norway Maple sap I'd collected so when I had reduced it by 60:1 I knew I was about done. The second year I thought I was done, then calculated that I had about 2x as much syrup as I thought I should have based on knowing about how much sap I'd gathered. At first I thought "oh well, I just like it a bit thin I guess"; then I realized it wasn't shelf-stable if you don't hit the right ratio. So I bought a hydrometer and did the test to make sure I was producing real syrup. (That website—tapmytrees.com—is also a good resource for info).

This sounds complicated, but really you can get started with just the spiles, tubing and stuff you have around the house; use a grill or fire pit to get started, then if you're having fun, start looking into building an evaporator, etc. But I feel like we're very well equipped to make all our family's maple syrup needs (and I hope to make enough for gifts or friends this year) and we're only about $150 in. 

As Leff notes, it's also a remarkable vehicle for connecting with people. There's a surprising amount of interest in the process and both years we've done it we've been able to host multiple groups to see the process and (depending on timing) taste the product.