The quality is equal to any other region's, but Indiana doesn't have the conditions to produce as much. The first step is to identify a sugar maple. Keep in mind that it's easier to identify the sugar maples before the leaves are gone for the winter. The sugar maple can be identified by the shape of its leaves, and also be its brilliant pink, yellow, and orange fall foliage. The leaves of the sugar maple have five lobes with smooth rather than serrated edges.
Larger trees can hold more than one tap.
A cover is used to keep rain, snow and debris out while the sap is collected. On a sunny day the sap runs out the spout in a continuous stream. Some producers have replaced the traditional galvanized syrup buckets with plastic bags. The tubing acts as a pipeline carrying sap to a holding tank. The sap then gets boiled down.