For those who have thought of tapping trees for their sugars, we're entering into the season to do so. Sugar maples are not the only tree you can tap. Those hollow silver maples put out a lot of sap. A cousin to the maple, box elder, grows in many fence rows around the Great Lakes and gives a lot of sap. But some of the nut trees are good to tap too. I have done both hickory and black walnut trees. Black walnut is actually my favorite wild sugar. Nut trees usually run first, hence the reason I tap it now. Birch trees also are good to tap, with sweet birch making a thick syrup with a bit of wintergreen flavor.
The three trees I tap are first the black walnut. About 10 days to 2 weeks later the sugar maples will start running. I am boiling both those saps often at the same time. It gets a bit crazy when they both are running high. About the time the black walnut cuts off, I tap white birch. We have a lot of it here, and I get a lot of syrup from it. I'm not thrilled with birch syrup, but it's sugar makes a great beer. I make 30 gallons or so and use it to "bribe" people to help with different chores early in the season.
Syrup season is the beginning of the natural year for me. The world is slowly coming out of its winter sleep. And with the sap beginning to drip, drip, drip, it is a very sweet awakening.
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The three trees I tap are first the black walnut. About 10 days to 2 weeks later the sugar maples will start running. I am boiling both those saps often at the same time. It gets a bit crazy when they both are running high. About the time the black walnut cuts off, I tap white birch. We have a lot of it here, and I get a lot of syrup from it. I'm not thrilled with birch syrup, but it's sugar makes a great beer. I make 30 gallons or so and use it to "bribe" people to help with different chores early in the season.
Syrup season is the beginning of the natural year for me. The world is slowly coming out of its winter sleep. And with the sap beginning to drip, drip, drip, it is a very sweet awakening.
