![]() ![]() ![]() Maple syrup is made in the region of North America ranging from southeastern Canada to Pennsylvania and from the East Coast to Wisconsin. Birch and black walnut trees can also be tapped and each produce their own distinctive syrup. These species include silver maple, Norway maple and box elder. Several other species in the maple family also produce a sugary sap, but are less frequently used due to undesirable sap characteristics. Red maple is another species that is frequently tapped for maple syrup production. Both are long-lived hardwood species common in deciduous forests in the northeast. Sugar maple and black maple are the two species of trees most used in making maple syrup. What kind of trees are used to make maple syrup? Using reverse osmosis reduces processing time and energy requirements by 75% or more. Most commercial producers use reverse osmosis to concentrate sap before cooking it into finished syrup in an evaporator. In this process, sap is pushed at high pressure through special filters, called membranes, that remove purified water from the sap. Another way to concentrate sap is reverse osmosis. This occurs at a temperature of around 219 degrees Fahrenheit. Sap is boiled in this fashion until it reaches a sugar concentration of about 66%. Heat also caramelizes a small amount of the sugar, creating a robust flavor. As the sap is heated, water evaporates, leaving behind concentrated sugars and other compounds that give maple syrup its distinctive taste. The traditional method is boiling the sap in a specialized pan called an evaporator. In order to turn maple sap into syrup, it needs to be concentrated and cooked at high temperatures. Using vacuum dramatically increases the amount of sap production. Most larger maple producers use vacuum pumps to create negative pressure in their collection systems. These lateral lines flow into larger diameter lines, called main lines, that flow into storage tanks. These systems usually consist of smaller, flexible lines called lateral lines that attach to plastic spouts that are driven into the tap hole. More commonly, sap is collected in plastic tubing systems that direct the flow of sap to a central storage area. The sap is then collected periodically from these small containers and placed in a storage tank. ![]() The traditional method, still used by many small producers, is driving a small spout into the tap hole and hanging a bucket or bag from the tree. The sap can be collected in many different ways. Typically, this raw sap has a sugar content of about 2%. On days when trees have positive pressure, the sap slowly drips out the tap hole. Tapping is simply the act of drilling a small hole into a maple tree each spring. Maple syrup production begins with the tapping of maple trees and the collection of sap. Maple syrup is a pure product and contains no additives or preservatives. During this time, sap is collected from maple trees and concentrated to a high sugar content to make a light to dark brown syrup. In the late winter and early spring, during periods of overnight freezes and daytime thaws, maple trees develop positive pressure in their stems. ![]() Maple syrup is a 100% natural product made from the sap of maple trees. ![]()
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