![]() Tasks such as cutting and splitting firewood for the sugarhouse and stringing and/or repairing the tubing in the sugarbush have taken place months before. Months before the start of the short maple syrup season, the sugarmaker has been preparing for the upcoming spring season. MSPAC offers a Maple 101 course once a year. You may also download a glossary of terms. For a full description of the step-by-step process, download the Connecticut Maple Syrup Producers Manual. But the end result is still that beautiful, wonderful tasting amber liquid we call maple syrup. While the basic steps are the same as hundreds of years ago, new processes and technologies have been developed which have increased productivity and ensured consistent high quality syrup. The five steps involved from start to finish are: (1) preparing for the season (2) determining WHEN to tap (3) identifying the trees to be tapped and tapping them, (4) collecting the sap and processing (boiling/evaporating) it (5) filtering, grading and packing the syrup. The simple description is that you collect sap from sugar maple trees and boil (evaporate) it until it reaches the proper density for syrup. Maple sugar has been used to flavor tobacco.The fundamental steps for making pure maple syrup are basically the same as they were hundreds of years ago when the Native Americans first did it and then introduced it to the early immigrants from Europe. They taught French and English colonists to collect maple sap. When colonists settled in the Northeast, Native Americans bartered with their "bark sugar," maple sugar stored in bark boxes. Maple sugar was the only sweetener used by Native Americans of the Northeast, and they used it to make a sauce for many of their foods. Sugar maple sap contains 2 to 6 percent sugar. Sap collected from the trees in late winter is boiled to produce a thick syrup. Sugar maple is also valued for the production of maple syrup. The strength of this wood is reflected in the genus name, Acer (Latin for sharp), referring to ancient Rome's use of maple to make handles for spears saccharum is the Latin word for sugar and refers to the high sugar content in this species' sap. ![]() ![]() ![]() Of particular value is maple wood with abnormal grain patterns called "curly maple" and "bird's eye maple." These types of maple have been used to make gun stocks and violins. It is called "hard maple" in the lumber industry and is a popular wood for furniture. Sugar maple has a heavy, light brown, close-grained wood. Leaf colors range from bright yellows to orange and red. Sugar maple is best known for its outstanding fall color that is so characteristic of New England states. ‘Sweet Shadow' - Medium green leaves with deep "cut leaf" lobes.‘Sentry' or ‘Temple's Upright' - A narrow, upright form often confused with ‘Newton Sentry.' It was once called A.saccharum ‘Columnare.' It is similar to ‘Sentry.' It is a relatively slow-growing tree that was once called A. ‘Newton Sentry' - The most common of the upright sugar maple cultivars.‘Legacy' - Has attractive, thick, glossy foliage, but is susceptible to Verticillium wilt.Green Mountain® - Popular drought-tolerant cultivar that has dark, leathery foliage.‘Commemoration' - Has dense, dark green foliage that turns yellow-orange-red in fall 10-14 days earlier than the species.It is fairly tolerant of heat and has good yellow-orange fall color. ‘Bonfire' - Has a round crown and broad, shiny leaves.
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