Maple Syrup Making Process
How we make the liquid gold
Tapping
The first step to making maple syrup is tapping the maple trees. A maple tree needs to be about 40 years old before it is big enough to tap. The process starts with drilling a tap hole into a maple tree. A spout is then inserted into the maple tree and the sap then flows through tubing into a large collection tank using a vacuum pump.
Reverse Osmosis
Once the sap is collected it is run through a reverse osmosis machine which takes a percentage of the water from the sap before boiling. Sap comes from the maple tree and has roughly between 1.5 - 2 % sugar content. After we run it through the reverse osmosis machine our sugar content is around 10 %. These numbers vary for different sugaring operations.
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Evaporator
An evaporator is where the boiling takes place. Stainless steel pans sit atop of an arch or firebox which in our case is fueled by wood and creates an intense fire. As the water in the sap evaporates, the sap thickens. When the temperature reaches around 219 degrees and the density is correct (which is checked by using a hydrometer) the maple syrup is done.
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Filter Press
Once the syrup is "drawn off: the syrup is then filtered through a filter press.
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Storage
Once the maple syrup is filtered we either put it in stainless steel barrels or jugs for retail sale. Throughout the year we open the stainless steel barrels and heat the syrup between 180 -190 degrees F and put it into jugs for retail sale. We refer to this process as canning maple syrup.
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