Maple Month in New Hampshire

The sugaring season takes place in late winter, when temperatures alternate between freezing and thawing, causing the sap to flow. The basic method of making syrup is the same, whether old or new technology is used: sap is collected from trees and the water is removed from it, usually by boiling, to concentrate it into syrup.

Sap is collected from trees through tapholes drilled into the trunks. The tapholes are fitted with a spout that conducts the sap into a bucket or plastic tube. The sap will drip from a hole in the tree when the weather conditions are right. A freeze will draw water from the soil into the roots and cause a small suction in the wood.

All the tapped trees together constitute the “sugarbush.” The traditional method of collecting sap is to hang a bucket on the metal spout. Today it is more common to collect sap with a tree-to-tree network of plastic tubing leading to a collection tank.

At the sugarhouse, the sap must be boiled as soon as possible. The boiling takes place in an evaporator, where the sap follows a winding path through the pans as it boils and becomes denser. Every sugarhouse has large chimneys to exhaust the great quantities of steam that are produced from the boiling sap; the sight of this steam shows that the sugarmaker is making syrup.

Once a batch of syrup has been drawn off, it is checked for proper density, filtered, tasted and color graded, to determine which of the grades will be on the label. At this point the sugarmaker will usually fill a steel drum with the hot syrup, to be stored and opened later for repacking into retail containers. Sugarmakers are proud of their operations and are usually pleased to welcome curious visitors who are tantalized by their “liquid gold.”

Did you know?

• A maple tree must be at least 40 years old before it is large enough to tap for its sap
• It takes about 40 gallons to produce one gallon of syrup
• Sap can be harvested only while it's moving through the tree trunk. The sugar in sap is stored as starch throughout the year. During the spring, the warm days and cold nights help change these starches to sugars.
• A gallon of maple syrup weighs about 11 pounds.
• The New Hampshire Maple Producers Association has received a gift of a large collection of antique maple tools and equipment. Some of these items are 200 to 300 years old. Members of the association are searching for a suitable building in which to house and exhibit this collection, preferably in the White Mountain region of the state. The non-profit organization is appealing to the public for help with funding. To learn more about plans for a New Hampshire maple museum, call 603-225-2757.