tree tuesday — maple syrup tapping

There are over 128 maple species but only 4 or 5 have a high sugar content which is needed for maple syrup production.

For someone who loves to spend time outdoors, especially in the wooded areas, I have never seen tree tapping in person. Never. And I am a maple syrup lover. Real maple syrup, that is, not the Aunt Jemima kind that is not even maple syrup — it's corn syrup with fake maple flavoring.

Last weekend I noticed some trees that were tapped and dripping sap into buckets attached to the stem. The entire bucket and spile (the fawcett) were covered with a lid to keep stuff from contaminating the sap. I lifted the lid and saw that the sap was a clear liquid. For some reason, I thought it would be at least a yellowish color.

I learned that the color happens during the boiling process where the liquid is boiled down. As it reduces, the color change happens and the liquid turns from the clear to a beautiful amber.

If you've never tried real maple syrup put it on your bucket list. It's more expensive than syrup but you can purchase small bottles of it as a treat.