• Ask Mark
    • Search the Library
    • Mark’s Blog
    • eNewsletter / Subscribe
    • Books
    • Links
  • Cullen’s Foods
  • Trees For Life
  • Events
    • Gardening Communities
  • About Mark
    • Mark and Ben’s Bio
    • Book Mark as a Speaker
    • Mark in the Media
    • Contact Us
March 11, 2015

From Sap to Syrup

Last week I gave you some background in tapping your own maple trees to get sap. That sap can be turned into syrup – that delicious treat we like to put onto our pancakes and waffles. It takes a bit of work to get it there, though. If you’re looking to make your own, this might be a good starting point but you’ll need to do a little more research beyond this blog. If you’re just curious, this is the place to be.

Sap
Sap is essentially a tree’s life force. It is the sugars, minerals, and nutrients that the tree transports through its xylem. It is a combination of elements picked up by the roots and the sugars created through photosynthesis.

The sap that comes from the maple tree can be stored below 3°C for up to 7 days. Beyond that and it starts to spoil.

Making Syrup
The sugary liquid that comes from a tree is not syrup, but sap. Syrup is the concentrated form of sap. There is a great deal of boiling that needs to happen before sap can become concentrated enough to be called syrup. To give you an idea, if you wanted to make 1 L of syrup, you would need 40 L of sap. No that’s not a typo, it’s a 40:1 ratio of sap to syrup.

The actual boiling process is quite involved which is why I’m going to direct you to Tap My Trees, a wealth of information where syrup making is concerned.

If you’re serious about this venture, be sure to read the fine details. As a friend has told me, an extra minute of boiling can make or break your batch. Perhaps it’s best to start in small batches so all of the sap is not wasted.

Maple Treats
If you visit Québec or Northern Ontario in the winter, you are sure to come across a festival or museum giving you the opportunity to enjoy frozen maple treats made by pouring hot syrup onto a ball of snow. The snow cools down the syrup, freezing it so it can be picked up on a stick and eaten on the spot. In Québec they call it “tire sur la neige”, which literally translates to “taffy on the snow”.
March11_blog

This novelty treat isn’t the only way to enjoy the sweetness. Maple Syrup World, just one of hundreds of websites dedicated to providing you with uses for maple syrup, lists recipes for everything from dessert to the main course and everything in between.

Maple syrup is truly a defining characteristic of this great country. I’m proud to think that visitors from other countries ask about the syrup and are inclined to give it a try (and likely take some home!). It tells me not that we are suckers for something sweet but that we have vast forests filled with maple trees capable of providing us with more than paper and wood products.

Enjoy your fresh maple syrup this season and remember that 40 to 1 ratio…a lot of sap from a lot of trees goes into making that syrup for you (if you’re using the real stuff, but that’s a story for a different blogger).

← Previous post
Historically Sweet – Maple Syrup

Next post →
For the Bees

Search

Recent Posts

  • Signs of Spring March 27, 2021
  • Around the Acres This Week February 2, 2021
  • Around the Acres This Week January 11, 2021
  • Around the Acres This Week December 9, 2020

Mark’s Blog by Month

Ask Mark

  • eNewsletter
  • Radio/Podcast
  • Magazine article
  • Newspaper column
  • TV

Recent Tweets

Mark Cullen Follow

Best selling Canadian gardening author as seen on TV, radio, online and print.

MarkCullen4
2 Mar

Was a pleasure visiting with our #tree loving friends @TonyDiGiovanni1 and @MarkCullen4 today @vinelandrsrch!

Reply on Twitter 1631375315615318018 Retweet on Twitter 1631375315615318018 1 Like on Twitter 1631375315615318018 10 Twitter 1631375315615318018
19 Feb

Increase biodiversity in your yard with these tips from Mark and Ben Cullen. @MarkCullen4

http://ow.ly/u2sE50MVwTA

Reply on Twitter 1627294471200116736 Retweet on Twitter 1627294471200116736 1 Like on Twitter 1627294471200116736 4 Twitter 1627294471200116736
10 Feb

Excited to meet with Mark Cullen and Tony DiGiovanni today to learn more about the Trees for Life Program and how Less Mess can help!

Reply on Twitter 1624161096243240976 Retweet on Twitter 1624161096243240976 4 Like on Twitter 1624161096243240976 6 Twitter 1624161096243240976
12 Jan

This was a great way to start the new year. Congratulations, Landscape Ontario, on this milestone! Thanks to all who made it happen. We’re looking forward to the next one.

#TreesForLife #Congress #LOCongress #ClimateAction #GoGreen #HOHTC

Reply on Twitter 1613670790612017153 Retweet on Twitter 1613670790612017153 5 Like on Twitter 1613670790612017153 5 Twitter 1613670790612017153

Comments are closed.

About Mark and Ben


Mark Cullen is an expert gardener, author & broadcaster and holds the Order of Canada. His son Ben is a fourth-generation urban gardener and graduate of Guelph and Dalhousie University.
More

Find Mark On

Sponsored Links

Highway of Heroes cullensfoods Share Agriculture Foundation Harrowsmith
© Mark Cullen. Go to top ↑