TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
It’s maple syrup season! Maple syrup operations typically start in February when it is still cold but spring is on the horizon and trees are tapped and buckets, bags, or modern plastic pipelines are connected to the taps in anticipation of when the sap will begin to run.
The sap begins to run when temperatures rise above freezing during the day and then drop down below freezing at night. This is prime-time for sap to run and for sap collection. Temperatures vary each spring, and the maple syrup season is entirely dependent on the right weather and temperatures to produce a good and abundant sap flow.
Then begins the process of cooking the sap down to remove all of the water and to produce delicious pure, sweet maple syrup. Because of the high water content, it takes an average of 40 gallons of sap to cook down to one gallon of maple syrup.
Maple syrup season typically ends in mid-April when nighttime temperatures no longer dip below freezing.