At the end of winter in Vermont, small outbuildings you might mistake for sheds or barns, come to life. Plumes of steam rise from their chimneys as sugar makers stoke the fires within. Kept burning around the clock, often still fed by hand, the fires heat maple sap in large metal pans called evaporators.
The sap from maple trees does not start out as the sweet and pancake-ready syrup we know. Fresh maple sap is thin and watery and must be boiled down to thicken it and concentrate its sweetness. This process is known as maple sugaring.
Sugaring season starts at the very end of February and lasts until early April. As the long winter freeze abates and temperatures rise, the sap loosens and begins to run through the trees. To harvest the valuable sap within, sugar makers must bore into and tap their trees. In the past, hollow metal spikes, also known as spiles, were hammered into maple trees and collection pails were hung below them. A slow but steady trickle of sap would drip out of the tree through the spiles and into the waiting pails below. Once filled, each sap pail would be emptied into larger containers hauled by a team of horses to the sugarhouse for boiling.
Some sugar makers still use the traditional spile and bucket method to this day, while others have traded in their spiles and pails for modern taps and PVC sap lines. The PVC lines are connected from tree to tree allowing the sap to flow freely, downhill, into larger and more easily accessible collection containers. A single maple tree can produce between 10 to 20 gallons of sap per season—depending on the weather. It takes 40 gallons of maple sap to produce one gallon of maple syrup.
Producing 100% pure maple syrup is a tradition that dates back to before Colonial Times. Maple sap was collected and made into syrup by native populations long before it was adapted by early American settlers in the late 1700s. Back then the sap was boiled in large cast-iron kettles over open campfires and hearths. For many, the art of sugaring has been passed down from generation to generation. While Vermont is one of the largest maple producers in the US, many sugar makers simply do it to keep the craft alive, and to make enough syrup for their friends and family to enjoy.
One fun way that Vermonters like to enjoy maple syrup is over fresh snow–a New England tradition called Sugar on Snow. It’s easy to make! Simply bring maple syrup to a boil, and let it simmer until it reaches 235 degrees and then pour the syrup over a baking pan filled with fresh snow. Allow it to cool again and then peel the maple syrup off the snow with a fork. As the syrup cools, it turns into maple taffy that melts in your mouth. A true sugaring season delicacy!
Love maple? Be sure to check out our Maple Glazed Ham or Maple BonBons recipes!
Learn more about maple from Eliot Orton, honorary Maple Inspector
Lembro muito quando estudei em montpelier 1973
Fantástico
I remember the old timers using the term “sap snow.” I seem to remember it being a spring storm that would make the sap run faster. I can’t find a reference to it anywhere. They are having a a snow day in NY today. Am I remembering wrong?
Is there a special species of Maple Tree that is needed to obtain the sap for sugaring?
The sap from almost any kind of maple tree can be used to make maple syrup, including silver maple and box elder trees. Of all the maple tree varieties, the sugar maple has the highest concentration of sugar in its sap, and yields more sap per season, making it a top choice for maple syrup makers.
Love the info on maple sugaring. I just ordered a 24oz. Jar of maple syrup Fromm you. Can’t wait to get it!!!
Love maple syrup! My family in southwestern Wisconsin has been making it for over 100 years.
I live in Columbus Ohio and have maple trees in our yard. We do have them professionally sprayed for bugs.
Will that affect the maple syrup if I can try to sugar them?
Thank you for a wonderful article! We miss New England vacations and hope to return soon!
Jo Ann
We had 50 tapped trees across the dirt road from our house. During a warm afternoon around 2 o’clock, we could stand outside and listen to a symphony of sap drops falling into the buckets. This was a few years back in Vermont.
I get sick from sugar, brown sugar, molasses and Maple Syrup,or Ice Cream, but was wondering if a person can use the sap from the tree to enjoy without boiling it down to the thick sugary deliciousness that I remember!
Thank you for the wonderful lesson on how it is made!
Claudia Legg Nolensville, Tn
We don’t recommend drinking raw sap…it’s very watery and rather flavorless. The boiling process is what brings out the sweetness and taste. There are different grades of syrup though! For a light maple flavor, we really like golden maple syrup like this one: Grade A Golden Maple Syrup
Some of my mother’s favorite stories was about sugaring time on the James family farm in Cornwall, Vt where she grew up in the early 1900s.
This just makes me homesick. I love maple sugar but I had no idea how much sap was needed to make a gallon of syrup! Originally from Connecticut, I am in Colorado now and will appreciate my maple syrup even more. Thank you for being there and doing what you do with your company. I too can find things in your catalogue that cannot be found anywhere else.
Growing up in Quebec, made me a big fan of all maple products. One of my favourite treat was “tire d’erable” which you cannot get anywhere here in the US. I made it a few times by slow boiling maple syrup for about 5-6 minutes and pouring it in very small ramequins. Then I store the ramequins in the refrigerator. In Montreal you can buy “tire d’erable” in the super markets during April. Thank you for promoting Maple Syrup!
I live on L.I., N.Y. It would be wonderful to have the Vermont Country Store on L.I.
Please, please don’t take me off your mailing or e-mail list. I am in my 91st year and can’t go out to shop anymore, my legs won’t let me. You sell some things that I can’t find anywhere else. If I were a wealthy woman, I would probably be spending thousands with you. I am like a kid at Christmas time who has just gotten the Christmas catalog from Sears. I had a recipe that I used to make with a center cut of Ham with a maple syrup sauce on it. You are four very handsome men and I can’t believe that Lyman is not a brother rather than your father.
I am a diabetic. Would I be able to use your Maple Syrup?
Maple syrup is a natural sweetener that contains some minerals and antioxidants, however, it can still raise your blood sugar. We suggest checking with your doctor to see what’s best for you.
The Maple Syrup over snow sounds delicious! Unfortunately I live in Ga so we never get real snow only ice. How lovely it would be to live in Vermont! Sounds heavenly!
Another way to enjoy sugar on snow when you’re missing the snow is snowcone style! Shaved or finely crushed ice works almost as well. If you give it a try, be sure to let us know how you like it!
Oh my gosh! Thank you so so much for the photo of “sugar on snow” I have not had that in 45 years. The photo brought back so many wonderful memories of when I was a child and my mom made the sugar on snow.we always had big smiles just like in the photo. My mom served dill pickles along side because that way we could eat more of the sweet syrup if we took a taste of sour once in a while. What great fun we had. Thank you for continuing the maple traditions Thanks again for sharing.
My gradeschool had many sugar maple trees in the grounds and the 4th grade class was responsible for treating us all to sugar on snow each year. Such good memories.
I really enjoyed reading about maple sugaring! And of course now I want some maple syrup!!
In about the third grade (1951 or so) I read a story about maple sugaring. The three things that have stuck with me we’re the horse-drawn sleds, the big black kettles and the maple syrup drizzled in the snow.
I very much enjoyed learning about the making of maple syrup! At Christmas we had a tea & crumpets party with the maple butter on it from Vermont country store & it was a big hit! You are like family to me!