How many reds!

[doocat]

I am curious how many red (soft) maple budded it would take to taste it in a 3000+ tap sugar bush? Any ideas?

Thanks

[Sugarmaker]

Maybe 20% That's just a guess. When it comes to flavor everyone will have different opinions as to how the syrup tastes.
Guess you could pull the taps on the reds.
Regards,
Chris

[sapman]

2000 of my 2900 are reds/silvers. Usually once I see flowers or fuzzies landing on the ground, that's seems to be it for flavor. I can shut them all off and just go with the sugars on the hill, which I did Thursday night. Syrup was bad til Monday, then yesterday tasted good again. Guess I'm glad I left the softs off.

But to your question, not really sure. Guess I'd go til it tastes bad, then start shutting them off or pulling , if you have the manpower.

[Maplewalnut]

I would guess 20% is probably a good number also. If I understand correctly it is the changing of the sucrose molecule to frutose whcih creates the off flavor. With that said, if on average you have less sugar from red sap (hence less sucrose in that volume of sap) then you may not be able to taste it is sugar maple sap overpowers it. What the tipping point is...we all know you will smell before you see

[adk1]

the last syrup I made was robust but hardly any maple flavor, just sweet. thinking the soft maples are changing even though they havent budded out yet. I have over 50% soft maples.

[doocat]

Well we only have maybe 20 reds in the whole bush and the syrup has an off after taste so I guess our trees have said...enough.

[saphound]

Wow..only 20 reds out of 3000+? I wouldn't even bother with them.

[doocat]

you can't pass up a maple when you running tubing....

[saphound]

Lol..no, I suppose you can't, doocat.:lol: