Thinking Of Harvesting Maple Syrup? You Might Have To Wait A While

With grocery prices rising and more and more consumers becoming conscious about what's in their food, harvesting your own pure maple syrup might sound like a great idea. In theory, it's more affordable and sustainable than purchasing maple syrup at the store, and you have complete control over what is added to it. However, harvesting maple syrup is not as quick as harvesting other edibles such as vegetables; you may have to wait 40 years before you see any return on your investment.

According to Learn About Ag, "A maple tree should be at least 10-12 inches in diameter before it is tapped for sap. A tree this size would be about 30-40 years old." Trying to tap a tree before it reaches this size will be ineffective, as it simply isn't thick enough to handle the tap. Luckily, once it reaches this size, the tree can produce sap for over a hundred years so long as it remains healthy. The wound created by tapping will heal within a year, which is why many people plant multiple trees and alternate tapping them each year. Each tree produces about 10 gallons of sap (or more if it's a particularly large tree,) which translates to a quart of syrup on average. However, maple syrup production is at the whim of many factors, including global warming.

Once you have a maple tree mature enough to be tapped, it's important to make sure you're harvesting during peak conditions. Trees are tapped early in the spring, when temperatures are above freezing during the day and below freezing at night. The temperature fluctuation causes pressure changes within the tree that pushes the sap out. These conditions are also ideal because maple sap will quickly spoil if kept above 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once you have the sap, you'll need to boil it to make syrup. This thickens the liquid and caramelizes the sugar, leading to the delicious taste we all know and love. There are four grades of maple syrup: Golden, Amber, Dark, and Very Dark. The darker the syrup, the stronger its maple taste. While Golden syrup has a very delicate taste with hints of vanilla, Very Dark syrup is intensely maple flavored. Which grade you get is dependent on lots of environmental factors, including boiling temperature, pH, and bacteria. To harvest a specific grade, you will have to do research and ensure both your tree and the sap you collect is kept at the perfect conditions for that grade.

Your homemade syrup will be worthwhile though. Not only is it a great addition to pancakes and baked goods, syrup has lots of less conventional uses you can try out with your homemade batch, like glazing and dressing salads. It even makes a great all-natural sweetener for coffee and other fun beverages.