Myths of Maple Syrup Making

[Cedar Eater]

I thought it might be good to have a thread of stupid myths that we believed before we learned the truth about making Maple syrup. I have two, so I'll start.

1) Red maples are no good for making maple syrup.

2) If you get the temperature of the finished syrup even one degree above the "ideal" temperature, the syrup will taste "burnt" and be ruined.

[jpcole]

I have heard alot of them over the years but here are two more......

If you run your sap through an RO it will changh the flavor of your syrup

Store bought syrup is better then real syrup. This isn't a myth, its a lie!

[Galena]

Oh geez where do I start...when one of my brothers visited a couple years ago, he was telling me maple sap was the hot new sports drink and I should be tapping my trees all year round!

[DrTimPerkins]

Always tap on the south side.
Always tap above a large root or below a large branch.
Tapping doesn't cause any damage to trees.
Vacuum is bad for trees.
Maple syrup is a health food (OK...before anybody jumps me on this one....I'm not saying it's bad, just that it is mainly SUGAR, but given that, it is a better sugar than other more refined sugars. But a health food it is not).
All maple syrup is organic.

[littleTapper]

It's not an addiction.

[Dave Puhl]

It's easy just tap a few tree's..

[Snappyssweets]

It's not an addiction.

Ah yeah this is the best. And I think to a crack addict or other drug addict and think Hmm. I wonder which one would have been a cheaper addiction. I know which one is healthier at least.

[mudr]

It's a good source of inexpensive income from the land you already own.

[Big_Eddy]

Common misconceptions

Extra light syrup is thinner than light syrup. (google it - it must be true!) I absolutely understand why the new grading standards don't include the word LIGHT.

Dark syrup is the best, because it hasn't been "refined"

I can detect a hint of horseradish with subtle overtones of mangoes.:rolleyes:

[happy thoughts]

It's easy to make your own maple syrup at home... for free!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqreE_O6mBU

[David in MI]

You can make money at it. :lol:

[maineboiler]

"Dark syrup has more flavor" OK, so it is a stronger flavor, but there is nothing like the flavor of Golden Delicate (or whatever you want to call it) from the first run of sap.

[Ken18621]

My brother insists that my syrup tastes better than my cousins because I am tapping "domestic" trees in my yard and my cousin is tapping "wild" trees in the woods.

[maplestudent]

"This is the last improvement I'm making this year"

[jpcole]

"Really honey, Its just a cheap hobby"

[wnybassman]

40:1 :lol:

[Maple Man 85]

Grandpa - "how are the deer going to get through the woods with all those lines?":lol:

[GeneralStark]

You can know when a tree will make buddy syrup by looking at it.

You should turn off your vacuum pump at night.

Sap in maple trees is pushed up by the roots.

Sugar maples make better syrup.

[Cedar Eater]

These have been great.

Tapping your trees will kill them.

[BoarsNest]

My evaporator runs it's self and is fine tuned I can walk away for 10 minutes.

I don't know what your problem is, I've never burned a pan.

[maplestudent]

"I always dump the first run of sap"

[Ray_Nagle]

Sap in maple trees is pushed up by the roots.


I came to post this one, but you beat me to it. This myth is even pervasive among most people who make maple syrup.

[wbreitbarth]

"how many pounds of sugar do you have to add to 100 gallons of sap?" :lol:

[maple maniac65]

Vermont syrup is better than everyone elses

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

I'll be home at a decent hour tonight dear!

[heus]

40:1 :lol:
I hear ya! Earlier this week we were getting .5% sap. What is that like 160:1? When it went back up to 1.2 we were thrilled.

[DaveB]

You can know when a tree will make buddy syrup by looking at it.

You should turn off your vacuum pump at night.

Sap in maple trees is pushed up by the roots.

Sugar maples make better syrup.

I heard someone tell me that it actually comes down from the branches, not up from the ground. When I asked how the water got there, they didn't know.

[heus]

Using the old fashioned "sheeting" method is a guarantee that syrup is at the correct minimum brix.

[DrTimPerkins]

I heard someone tell me that it actually comes down from the branches, not up from the ground. When I asked how the water got there, they didn't know.

Water is sucked up into the tree during the freeze cycle as the temperature of the wood (and water in the wood) falls to freezing (just before it actually freezes solid). This is why a nice slow drop in temperature is good, as it allows a full recharge of the tree. During the subsequent thaw, the bulk movement of sap is downward, although there is some modest amount of lateral movement (down and sideways) as well. This is also true under vacuum conditions in the early part of the run. As the supply of sap above the taphole is exhausted, there is a transition to movement of sap upward. If the thaw is long enough, and the vacuum is good enough, vacuum will actually pull water out of the ground through the roots, up the stem, and out of the taphole. This is why over several days the sugar content on vacuum may eventually start to drop as the sugar in the wood is depleted (until the next freeze at least, which both stimulates water uptake and starch to sugar conversion).

[DaveB]

Water is sucked up into the tree during the freeze cycle as the temperature of the wood (and water in the wood) falls to freezing (just before it actually freezes solid). This is why a nice slow drop in temperature is good, as it allows a full recharge of the tree. During the subsequent thaw, the bulk movement of sap is downward, although there is some modest amount of lateral movement (down and sideways) as well. This is also true under vacuum conditions in the early part of the run. As the supply of sap above the taphole is exhausted, there is a transition to movement of sap upward. If the thaw is long enough, and the vacuum is good enough, vacuum will actually pull water out of the ground through the roots, up the stem, and out of the taphole. This is why over several days the sugar content on vacuum may eventually start to drop as the sugar in the wood is depleted (until the next freeze at least, which both stimulates water uptake and starch to sugar conversion).

Yeah- I tried explaining the process of capillary action to the person as to how the water gets to the branches but they wouldn't accept that. They insisted that like rain falling from the sky, that's how the sap gets there, not through the roots.

[Cedar Eater]

Using the old fashioned "sheeting" method is a guarantee that syrup is at the correct minimum brix.

Ha! More like a guarantee that you will make some rock candy.

[DrTimPerkins]

Yeah- I tried explaining the process of capillary action......They insisted that like rain falling from the sky, that's how the sap gets there, not through the roots.

Capillary action is only a minor component of the process.

The only time branches will take up water through rain is if the tree is DEAD and dry.

[Russell Lampron]

I can tell the difference between syrup that was made with an RO and syrup that wasn't....

You just drill a hole in the tree and syrup comes out....

[Galena]

....You just drill a hole in the tree and syrup comes out....
BWAHAHAAHAAAA...that's what my bro, the one who also told me to tap the trees all year round and sell the sap as a health drink, thought....good thing I don't have him *helping* me!!

[DaveB]

Capillary action is only a minor component of the process.

The only time branches will take up water through rain is if the tree is DEAD and dry.

Right, but isn't it also a form capillary action through the freeze/thaw cycle? Either way, it's drawing the water up from the ground, not capturing and holding it in the branches when it rains. That was the persons claim and I would think that would qualify as a myth.

[DrTimPerkins]

Right, but isn't it also a form capillary action through the freeze/thaw cycle?

Capillary action is one component of the force. If it were the only one, trees would be taking up water all the time regardless of the freeze/thaw cycle. On its own, capillarity can achieve a maximum height of about 30 ft of lift. Trees can grow much higher than that. In addition, if capillarity was the full explanation, trees would not necessarily need stomata (the tiny pores in leaves that allow water out) for water transport to occur during the growing season.

Other components of xylem sap flow in the spring include osmotic effects (no....not your RO), evaporation through branches, vacuum created through changes in the volume of air bubbles in the lumen (the gas filled space inside fibers) that result from cooling, and the vapor pressure reduction during the transition from water to ice (the air above ice is dryer than the air above water). All of those forces working in concert result in the small negative pressure (vacuum) which draws water into the plant during the uptake cycle.


Either way, it's drawing the water up from the ground, not capturing and holding it in the branches when it rains. That was the persons claim and I would think that would qualify as a myth.

You are absolutely correct there. Trees take up water through their roots, not through their branches.

Didn't mean to offend. My response to your post was not meant to say that you were wrong, just that there are some additional details beyond capillarity needed to make the water uptake process work in maple trees.

[Tweegs]

It takes bees to make syrup.

At least once a day at the market I’m asked how many bees I have.:lol:

[Cedar Eater]

It takes bees to make syrup.

At least once a day at the market I’m asked how many bees I have.:lol:

That got a big chuckle out of me.

[Clarkfield Farms]

This to another member here, but on another forum to which we also both belong: "When you small scale and finish in house put a potato in and it will pick up any dirt bark etc. that is in the syrup."

I'm not declaring this to be myth, but it sure wouldn't pass muster for an acceptable practice in a sugar operation. Or am I wrong?

[Burnt sap]

If not you will have one tasty potato. Toss in a few eggs to hard boil in the sap side and you sir have a nice snack.

[SDdave]

Biggest myth I've come upon is my friends: "I'll come over to help" which usually means I'll come over to see if I can get some more syrup when you're actually done with the work.

SDdave

[Galena]

Biggest myth I've come upon is my friends: "I'll come over to help" which usually means I'll come over to see if I can get some more syrup when you're actually done with the work.

SDdave

BWAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!! So true! :-)