"Sappy" Science

Now that you know a bit more about us, (and I've had the opportunity to share some of my favorite photos!) let's get back to Maple Syrup.  Any day now, we'll start seeing daytime temperatures rise into the upper 30's and night temps still dropping into the 20's.  That's when we can begin collecting sap!  In preparation for what is to come in my future posts, I thought I'd take the time to share some maple science with you.  So where does it all begin?  This gift of delicious sweetness?  Well, our ingenious Creator began with.......

SUNLIGHT!

From the time the new baby leaves appear in springtime, those little factories soak up the sunshine, the fuel for photosynthesis.  The chloroplasts in the leaves gather the raw materials of water, minerals, gases and light energy to manufacture carbohydrates, aka. plant food.

                                                                                 The chlorophyll that harvests the light energy gives the leaves their green color all summer long. Glucose feeds the tree... and then some!  Unseen to us, the maple trees are storing up all the extra glucose that they don't need to grow, repair, and flourish, turning it into storable starch. (That's my problem this winter - those darned extra "storable" carbs!)  

As the days get shorter, sunlight becomes less intense, and temperatures drop, then we see the true colors of the maples.  They look magnificent with their yellow, reddish-orange, and crimson leaves! Meanwhile, inside, the trees convert the starch back into sugars (glucose, fructose and sucrose), in preparation for spring.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

During the winter months, that sugar is stored in the trunk and roots of the trees.  As temperatures begin to rise, and the days get longer again, the roots begin soaking up the water from the melting snow.  That water mixes with the stored sugar, and - tada!- SAP! During the daytime, thanks to the air pressure being greater inside the tree than outside, the sap travels up the xylem, or sapwood to give the tree energy for making new leaves.  At night, the sap goes back down towards the roots.

     

     When we tap the maple tree, we are extracting sap from the ample supply in the xylem.  Done correctly, this does not damage the tree in any way.  In fact, the tree is only sharing about 10% of its sap with us! Maples with a diameter of ten inches or more can be tapped, year after year, for a century or more!                                                                                                                 The season for extracting sap is quite short - only 3 to 6 weeks.  Once the tree buds begin to grow, the sugars turn back into starch. The sap, which was clear, turns cloudy and the flow slows way down. Syrup made from late season sap will be dark in color and may have a slightly bitter taste.

350, or so, trees have been selected by Don and Will, miles of tubing has been ran, collection tanks have been set in place, and the evaporator has been assembled.  We've been chopping quite a supply of firewood to keep that evaporator going, too.  Very soon, we will begin drilling, and setting taps in place. Then, let it flow, let it flow, let it flow!  


The sweet good-bye of winter!!

Check my next post for some Maple syrup facts!