Spring’s Sweet Harvest

From Sap to Syrup

• In fall, maples store starches in their roots and trunks in preparation for winter.
• In early spring, when temperatures rise during the day but remain below freezing at night, the starches convert into sugar.
• The sap begins to flow when temperatures rise, creating pressure inside the tree.
• To release the sap, sugar makers bore tiny holes fitted with taps into the wood.
• Aided by gravity, the sap flows into reservoirs through networks of plastic tubing.
• The reservoirs are emptied into stainless-steel evaporators, where the sap is boiled for hours over a hot fire.
• It takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of maple syrup.
• Maple syrup is more nutrient-dense than its sweetening counterparts honey or sugar, containing potentially beneficial anti-oxidant compounds, as well as significant amounts of manganese and zinc.
   

Try These Maple Syrup Recipes:

• Maple Soy Duck Breast with Gingered Scallions
• Maple Mousse

Photography by Albert Elbilia