DIY Maple Syrup
Channel: Mt. Cuba Center
Date: 17/12/2023

Happy National Maple Syrup Day! If you have a maple in your yard, chances are you can make your own maple syrup! The sap from sugar, black, red and silver maples can be boiled into syrup. Trees around here typically begin to release their sap in February when daytime temperatures are above freezing but it's still below freezing at night. This temperature variance creates pressure in the tree, which releases the sap. To begin, you can place a tap in any applicable tree with a circumference of at least 31 inches. Next, you'll be collecting sap for at least one week --each healthy tree you tap can produce one to three gallons of sap per day! That may seem like a lot, but you have to boil down 40 gallons of sap to produce about one gallon of syrup. Once the temperature of the sap reaches 219 degrees F it has officially become syrup, and it's time to put it on your pancakes and enjoy! 🥞