Boxelder sap to syrup?

[unclejohn]

My brother-in-law has tapped a dozen or so big boxelders down by his creek, and they were really flowing well during this post-polar vortex thaw. He's been boiling down about 20 gallons of sap in a big stainless pot on the kitchen stove and keeps adding more as he harvests. There is no typical maple fragrance or color, it seems to be a clear/cloudy liquid with egg white fluff floating on the surface. (more fluff than you usually get from maple sap). We're not sure what to expect from a final product. Any experience with boxelder sap/syrup would be appreciated.

[tpathoulas]

For the first 3 years I made syrup I used Boxelder trees. A few things I learned. It takes a lot of Sap! It was usually about 80-100 saloons to make 1 gallon of syrup. The syrup was very dark and sweet. It had a different flavor. Not like syrup made from sugar maples. It was not a flavor that tasted like what you smell when you snap a boxelder branch. It is a unique flavor that our family enjoyed. With a lower sugar content I would expect the sap to not have a super sweet flavor. Due to the volume of sap I would highly recommend not cooking in the house unless you have a very good exhaust system or do not like the wallpaper.
Good luck

[maple flats]

Back when my kids were young (the oldest is now 50) we made syrup for family use. We put in 7-9 taps, 3 were in sugar maples and the rest were in Box Elders. It made good syrup. I can't tell you what the sugar % was, we just boiled until it was good density syrup. Did not even have a hydrometer, we just boiled it to 219-220.

[2018 newbie]

Last year was my first making syrup and I had two sugar maples (in my yard) and four boxelder (in the woods). I made syrup from both, but I kept them separate. The sugar maple syrup was classically delicious, wonderful on pancakes, etc. The boxelder had a different flavor, I would say more citrus/molasses flavor. Very different. I didn't like it at first, but started to use it on oatmeal and really liked it for that purpose. I think it would be a great ingredient for bbq sauce as well.

[maple flats]

When we made it, the sap was not kept separate, just blended and the final taste was like sugar maple only syrup, with a little reddish hue to the color.

[littleTapper]

I tap a few boxelders and keep it separate. I've noticed the earlier season sap stays very light and usually has a flavor a bit like tart blackberries. I've also had very buttery/marshmallow flavored box elder syrup early in the year. Mid-season it will get very similar to maple and then near the end get very molasses-like in flavor. I use the late stuff for making BBQ sauces and it excels at it!

One of my coworkers goes nuts for the early boxelder syrup. It really is neat stuff.

[Woody77]

My first try was the box elder in the back yard. I used a piece of copper pipe for a tap and gave it hell. I was 15 and had never even had or seen maple syrup made but herd some old guys talking about it so I had to try it. I ended up with a quart of supper light syrup that was super sweet with a honey flavor but no maple flavor.
It would be great sap to add to walnut or birch .

[craig101]

My brother taps Boxelder trees, seems they are plentiful by him while maple trees are elusive. For him, it's about 60:1 sap-syrup ratio, much higher than I get for tapping my maple trees.

I usually help him finish the syrup as I have a cup and hydrometer. I think Boxelder sap needs to be watched more closely and the temp needs to be adjusted a lot when it's getting closer to syrup. It bubbles up way more than what I see when I am finishing my maple sap. That said, his syrup is fairly dark with a red tinge to it. Has Molasses undertones to it. I like it. It also filters beautifully, flows way more easily thru my orlon filters and filters clear. My **** maple syrup is a pain to filter, very fine sugar sand, so I've taken to finishing my syrup and storing in my fridge while i let it gravity "filter" then i pour off the clear syrup reheat and can.