How Sweet It Is! (Making Maple Syrup) Quiz

Answer: At least 40 years old

The farmers make wood roads into the forest where there is the heaviest concentration of mature sugar maple trees. Other species are cleared out to make more room for the maples to grow. Trees must be at least 40 years old to be used without damaging the tree.

Answer: Sap

On a warm day the water flows up from the roots and mixes with the natural sugar to produce sap. Sap is a clear liquid that is between 2% to 5% natural sugar. Typical sugar weather causes a freeze at night and a thaw during the next day that causes the sap to be pushed out the sap hole into a bucket.

Answer: Late February or early March

For successful sap gathering, warm days and cold nights are needed. When the weather begins to get warmer, farmers drill tap holes into the trees. Once the hole is drilled and the shavings are brushed out a spout is inserted so the sap can begin flowing out.

Answer: Either a metal sap bucket or a plastic tube

After the spout is inserted into the tree, a 16-quart bucket with a lid to keep out rain and snow is attached to the tree. A newer way developed to collect sap is the use of plastic tubing. Plastic spouts are driven into the tree and plastic tubing is attached to the spout.

The sap runs down a hill in the tube and is collected in a large tub at the bottom. In the correct topography up to 100 trees can be connected.

Answer: Every day

The sap must be collected daily because it remains perishable until it is boiled. The sugar maker usually goes out with a sled or wagon pulled by horses or a tractor, collects the sap from each tree by putting it in a collection pail and then pouring the sap into a gathering tank in the back of the wagon/sled. Typically, it would take a team of four people eight hours to collect about 1,200 buckets. If plastic tubing is used the sap is pumped from the collection tubs once a day.

Answer: True

The amount of sap needed varies depending on its sugar content. Some sugar makers use the Rule of 86, which states that one gallon of syrup is equal to 86 gallons divided by the percent of sugar in the sap. Since the sap collected from the trees is usually around 2-4 %, it is estimated that it takes roughly 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup.

Answer: Sugarhouse

The sugarhouse contains the evaporator (a large pan and fire box used to boil the sap down into syrup) and a woodshed where 25-30 cords of wood are stacked for fuel. The wood has been dried for a year. During the sugar season workers spend most of their time in the sugarhouse. Meals are eaten there, and neighbors and friends often stop by to visit because the one doing the boiling cannot leave his post.

Answer: To know when the syrup has reached the correct thickness

The evaporator is divided into two pans. The sap enters the pan at about 2-4% sugar. When enough water has been boiled away that the liquid is now at 7% sugar, it flows into another pan where it thickens. The sugar maker uses the thermometer to check the temperature and hydrometer (to check the density) to make sure the thickness of the syrup complies with state standards. Maple syrup is considered syrup at 219 degrees Fahrenheit.

Answer: The tree can be tapped each year

A tree can be tapped each year without damaging the tree. However, a new hole must be drilled at least six inches from the previous year's hole. The sugaring process takes only about seven percent of the sap, so the tree is not harmed.

Answer: All of these

Maple syrup has many table uses (pancakes, waffles, French toast, hot cereal, etc.) as well as cooking uses (making glazes, sauces, making pies, etc.). While in Vermont I even had maple syrup on a slice of pizza! (It was delicious.) If substituting syrup for granulated sugar, use three quarters of a cup of syrup for one cup of sugar and cut back on the amount of liquid in the recipe. I hope you enjoyed this quiz.