can I make syrup from the sap of all maple trees?

[Seananers]

You see we have a large japanese maple tree (this thing is HUGE it has to be at least 80 years old) in our backyard and my mom wants to tap it to make maple syrup. But I don't think that you can do that with all maple trees but I'm not really sure.

[rainbowgardener]

No, I don't think so. The issue is the sugar content of the sap. Sugar maples happen to have sap that is very high in sugar. Even so, 40 or so quarts of sap are boiled down to make one quart of syrup. 40 quarts of sap would be the whole production of one sugar maple over the whole maple sugaring season (a couple months or so).

Red maples can also be tapped and make syrup, but the sugar content is lower, so it requires even more sap to make one quart of syrup.

If you could do it at all, it would take a whole grove of Japanese maples and hundreds of quarts of sap to get that quart of syrup.

My church did maple syrup making one year. It was interesting. To get enough sap, we collected it from 4-5 trees over the whole season in gallon milk jugs and froze it, so that we could keep it while we were collecting more. Then we spent all day boiling it in a special large shallow pan over an open fire. It was (as usual during maple sugaring season) a very cold day, so we took turns standing outside with an awning over us, stirring the sap and feeding the fire. The syrup we produced was wonderful! But if any of us had been paid anything for our time in making it, the syrup would have been prohibitively expensive.

[applestar]

That's really interesting -- the part about your church project. I think you mentioned it once before rainbowgardener, but hearing it described again, prompts greater appreciation of the work involved, especially (as usually the case) without specialized equipment.

I think, too. There might be other concerns involved here -- like scarring the trunk of the tree from tapping and whether this species tree can tolerate the sap loss, plus you would be making deep puncture wound that (I imagine) can invite infection as well as create entry point to pest insects. Is it worth the experiment?

[!potatoes!]

what's 'huge' for a japanese maple tree? I think I'd still use the same guidelines about tree size (trunk diameter) as you would with sugar maples or other trees (birch, sycamore, black walnut, and more can all be tapped - but like RG says, nothing has quite the sugar content of sugar maples and therefore the return is lower)...so I'd want a trunk diameter of at least 10" or so for one tap. way bigger for more than 1.

I wouldn't be too worried about insects or disease if tapping during normal sugaring time - the flowing sap does a lot to protect against such things - which is why northern 'sugarbush' woods that have been tapped for decades are frequently still fine.

it would be interesting for an experiment. I hope to tap trees on my property one year, but in my area there's frequently not a big enough window of time with the right weather. you really need highs in the 30's-40'sF and freezing nights for the sap to flow right. I've got the gear, just waiting for the right season.

[ButterflyLady29]

I was once told that you can seal the tap hole with a similar size piece of a twig from the tree.

I have some really big trees, sycamore, hickory, walnut, that I've thought about tapping. I know it doesn't really hurt the tree but I really don't want to tap my big sycamore. I have a few very large bitternut hickory trees that I may try this spring. I have a few spiles that we got from Hueston Woods state park during last years maple syrup festival. And the heat from the wood stove would be enough to reduce the sap without boiling. I'll have to mark the trees and clear a path to them but it sounds like a neat project.

[rainbowgardener]

People make a syrup from shagbark hickory bark: https://www.cnn.com/2014/08/07/living/hi ... index.html
It isn't boiled down like maple syrup, but is roasted and then boiled with sugar to infuse the hickory flavor into the sugar syrup.

I guess other trees like hickory and walnut can be tapped for sap, but again the sugar level is lower (meaning more sap has to be boiled down to get a sweet syrup) and the taste may not be the same as maple syrup.

[!potatoes!]

apologies, seananers, for the continued digression. perhaps a satisfactory answer has already been supplied?

I guess other trees like hickory and walnut can be tapped for sap, but again the sugar level is lower (meaning more sap has to be boiled down to get a sweet syrup) and the taste may not be the same as maple syrup.

I'm rather hoping and expecting that they don't taste the same. sweet birch has such a strong wintergreen-y taste and odor when you make tea from twigs, I can only assume that birch syrup will be similar. I enjoy the taste of black walnuts, and also the smell of their crushed leaves or fresh hulls. maybe the syrup will have some of the same flavors - same with hickory, for that matter. if the flavors are interesting or exciting to me, I don't feel like I need to produce a significant amount for the experiment to be a success, and that makes the lower return on investment feel more acceptable too. at least that's where I'm at with it. so I'll continue to wait for the spring where the weather co-operates.

[rainbowgardener]

Not spring I think. I thought applestar had mentioned in here temperatures for tapping trees, but I'm not seeing it.

Anyway: "Generally the sap starts to flow between mid-February and mid-March. The exact time of year depends upon where you live and weather conditions. Sap flows when daytime temperatures rise above freezing (32 degrees Fahrenheit / 0 Celsius) and nighttime temperatures fall below freezing." https://www.tapmytrees.com/pages/tap-tree

Late winter is usually maple sugaring time (that's why I mentioned the cold when we were doing it). You need the nights to still be freezing.

[Seananers]

so most likely I would end up killing the tree if I attempted to make maple syrup from from the sap of my japanese maple.

[applestar]

Is there a heritage farm in your area? By this I mean a working farm where they conduct farm activities in traditional ways for educational purposes.

We haven't been to the one about one hour away by car from us in a while, but my daughters and I used to go observe and sometimes participate in activities like sugar maple tree tapping, maple sugaring, apple cider pressing, ice cutting, etc.

[Seananers]

Is there a heritage farm in your area? By this I mean a working farm where they conduct farm activities in traditional ways for educational purposes.

We haven't been to the one about one hour away by car from us in a while, but my daughters and I used to go observe and sometimes participate in activities like sugar maple tree tapping, maple sugaring, apple cider pressing, ice cutting, etc.

actually I went to a heritage farm earlier today with some of my friends. it was rather boring though

[applestar]

Bummer -- what was the event? I think some activities were more interesting than others -- depending on how they were organized and how much hands-on we could engage in. It will also depend on age-level they are aiming for. The one we go to has a website calendar with detailed descriptions but mostly single program for each activity.

There is another one that is a bit too far but has a much more diverse multi-level activity programs, but more involved programs were arranged in multi-week workshop style. I always wished we could go to that one but not worth driving two hours for regular visits.

[Seananers]

Bummer -- what was the event? I think some activities were more interesting than others -- depending on how they were organized and how much hands-on we could engage in. It will also depend on age-level they are aiming for. The one we go to has a website calendar with detailed descriptions but mostly single program for each activity.

There is another one that is a bit too far but has a much more diverse multi-level activity programs, but more involved programs were arranged in multi-week workshop style. I always wished we could go to that one but not worth driving two hours for regular visits.

it was just a seminar about what fertilizer is best for growing fruit trees.

[ButterflyLady29]

Hueston Woods isn't very far from you. They have a maple syrup festival every spring. I've not checked in about helping tap the trees and run the lines because I live too far away but I know they give a guided tour through the sugar grove and talk about how it's done and how they collect the sap. You also get to see the sugar shack where they cook down the sap. It's pretty neat but it's done only in the spring, usually the last of February and the first of March. The staff know quite a bit about the process and are willing to answer any questions. They gave spiles out during the tour and had some for sale with the syrup and other maple products.

As for your tree, what is the diameter of your tree?

[ID jit]

Birch works well, not as sweet as maple, but a very interesting flavor.

If you want quarts, you had better have a small forest of birches (preferably far up hill) to tap and you will probably want to run lines into a collection drums.

[Seananers]

Birch works well, not as sweet as maple, but a very interesting flavor.

If you want quarts, you had better have a small forest of birches (preferably far up hill) to tap and you will probably want to run lines into a collection drums.

I really don't want to much just a cup or two. but I bet I would need like 2 or 3 trees to get that much

[ID jit]

I really don't want to much just a cup or two. but I bet I would need like 2 or 3 trees to get that much

A few good sized sugar maples and a good, long season, you could get a quart or two of something tastier and darker than the popular "fancy" grade,

A few foot diameter birches isn't going to get you all that much, even in a good season.

Part of me misses being farmed out to my uncles as free labour during the summer and sugering season. Miss the the belgians at one uncles farm but not the perpetual lifting of buckets, and I definitely don't miss walking miles of lines shaking the ice out of the bends at my other uncle.

It is a lot of fun on small scale though. Have fun with it.