MAPLE SYRUP | How It's Made

How do maple trees make sap? Starch is accumulated and with the spring thaw, enzymes transform that starch into sugar. When the trees absorb water through their roots, it mixes with that sugar to make sap. Long before settlers came to North America, the Native Americans revered the maple tree. In early spring, they'd pierce its trunk with a tomahawk, then place a wood chip under the hole to channel the sap into a bark container. Then they boiled the sap over a fire in clay pots. Today, most producers use tubing instead of sap buckets. No more trudging through the snow from tree to tree. The time to collect sap is in the early spring, when the maple trees are still dormant and when the temperature hits three or four degrees above freezing. The freezing and thaw cycle alters the pressure inside the tree and starts the sap flowing. The first step is to tap the trees by drilling a hole one centimeter in diameter, five centimeters deep. Then a spout is gently inserted. It's important not to damage the bark. That would not only harm the tree, but also lets air in the sap, which ruins the flavor. You don't see too many sap buckets around anymore. Today, sap is pumped through polyethylene tubes, which lead to a pumping station. Sap is 97.5% water and only 2.5% sugar. To transform the sap to syrup, it's boiled down. It takes 40 liters of sap to make just one liter of syrup. When the tank fills up, the sap is automatically pumped into a stainless steel tank, residing in the sugar house. The more advanced producers use a specialized machine that partially concentrates the sap by reverse osmosis. This more than triples the sap's natural sugar level and means they'll have less boiling to do. From there, the sap flows to the evaporator. They heat the sap to boiling point and keep it boiling however long it takes to evaporate 66% of the water. If the water evaporates too slowly or too quickly, it adversely affects the color, flavor, and texture of the syrup. However, and here's where expertise is everything, there's no set cooking time. Experienced maple sugar producers can tell when it's ready just by looking at it. The sugar level is tested using a device called a hydrotherm. When the syrup is just right, it's run through a pressure filter to remove calcium residues and other impurities. The syrup is stored in steam-cleaned barrels. The lab at the central warehouse tests a sample from each drum. Using sophisticated instruments, technicians classify the color from dark to extra light. They also assess the quality. Lower grade syrup is for industrial use, higher grade for the retail market. The syrup is pasteurized, then put into huge stainless steel storage tanks. The tanks are vacuum sealed with a nitrogen barrier to preserve the flavor and color and to prevent fermentation. This also keeps the syrup from crystallizing. The lab then uses an instrument called an atomic absorption spectrophotometer to analyze the syrup's mineral content, making sure it meets market standards. Next, the syrup is warmed in stainless steel heaters, then passed through industrial size filters. This step ensures the syrup will be perfectly clear. Then just before bottling, the syrup is heated again. This time to 82 degrees Celsius. This not only sterilizes the bottles, but also guarantees the syrup will have a four-year shelf life. Maple syrup is high in sugar, but has fewer calories than honey or brown sugar. It's 100% pure and natural. And it's a good source of three essential nutrients, calcium, potassium and magnesium. And of course, it tastes great on pancakes.