Pure maple syrup is made from the sap of maple trees. Only trees that are 10 inches or more in diameter are tapped. During harvest time, thousands of gallons of sap can be boiled down in a day. Each day of harvest brings a slight variation in flavor and color.
Maple Syrup is one of the oldest farming industries today!
A four step process:
Tap: Trees are tapped using a spile. This is done when nights are below freezing and day temps are warm for maximum sap collection.
Let it Flow: Depending on the flow , buckets can be left for a few hours or an entire day. Some farms use plastic bags in place of buckets.
Boil: After sap is collected, it needs to be boiled. This process concentrates it down into what we know as maple syrup.
Bottle: After filtering, it's time to bottle. Pure maple syrup can last up to a year on the shelf or opened in the fridge, and indefinitely when frozen.
