A Sticky Situation

Warm Spring

A warmer than usual spring has led many of us to tuck away our winter coats in favor of lighter jackets and wind breakers. Those of us who are particularly cold-hardy are already braving the streets in shorts! It’s only mid-march, yet we have had unseasonably warm temperatures so far.

While this warmer weather makes most of us jump with joy, did you know that there may be less maple syrup this year as a result? You’re probably wondering how the warm weather has anything to do with syrup that you put on your stack of pancakes. 

the story of our syrup

Where does syrup come from . . . besides the grocery store? While we do buy our syrup in bottles at the grocery store, many of these bottles list corn syrup as the number one ingredient followed by a dozen or so extra ingredients. Pick up a bottle of real maple syrup and only one ingredient is listed: maple syrup. This is the good stuff that we get from the sap of maple trees. 

No, the Keebler cookie elves that live in trees have not expanded their inventory. You don’t just press a button and out pops the syrup. It’s actually quite a process to get the sap out of the tree and to turn it into syrup. Before we talk about how to make syrup, we first need to understand how the inside of a tree works. 

Trees have living vascular tissue beneath their bark. Xylem tissue is made of thick tube-like cells that transport water and minerals from the roots all the way up to the leaves. Xylem tissue replaces itself every year. The old cells dies and are replaced by new cells. This is why we see growth rings in a cross-section of a tree that has been cut down. Phloem tissue is made of thinner cells that carry glucose (sugars made from photosynthesis) throughout the tree wherever it is needed. 

The tree stores extra sugars in its vascular tissue over the winter. In the spring, these excess sugars become accessible in the sap for us to tap. To tap a maple tree, a small funnel instrument called a spile is placed into a hole drilled into the vascular tissue.  A bag or bucket is then attached to the spile to collect the sap as it slowly drips out of the tree. 

Less Syrup this spring

So, why is our unseasonably warm spring affecting sap flow? The sap is freed from the cells of a tree’s vascular tissue when night time temperatures fall below freezing and day time temperatures rise above freezing. Typically, our weather in Minnesota allows for sap to flow throughout most of the month of March. At Lowry Nature Center in Carver Park, about 200 gallons of sap were collected last year. So far this year, only 30 gallons have been collected. If we have a drop in night time temperatures, the sap may yet continue to flow for a couple more weeks. However, it is interesting to observe how seasonal temperature differences can affect something like the amount of syrup we have for pancakes!

Click for News Story about Syrup this Spring

Sap to Syrup

Once sap has been collected, is it ready to use? Sap direct from the tree does contain sugars, but it wouldn’t be very tasty to pour it directly onto your pancakes. You would get very soggy pancakes because sap is made mostly of water.  To make syrup from the sap, you need about 40 gallons of sap for every gallon of syrup. To get syrup, the sap is boiled down until most of the water has evaporated. Then, the sticky stuff remaining is filtered through wool felt or cheesecloth to remove any impurities. Finally, the syrup is ready to put in jars for use! 

Make your own maple syrup

If you have sugar maple trees in your yard, consider tapping them to make your own authentic maple syrup! Follow this MN DNR link to learn how to get started:

MN DNR Link

If you don’t have maple trees available to you, consider going to an event at a nature center to learn more about the maple syrup process. Many free events are offered through Three Rivers Park District each spring. 

If you and your kids would like to observe how sap turns to syrup at home, try the following recipe at home:

What You’ll Need:

• 8 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 4 cups water
• 2 teaspoons pure maple extract
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extra
• Mason Jars or other glass containers to store syrup (Makes about 2 ½ quarts)
• A large 5-6 quart pot

What to Do:

1. On the stove top in your large pot, combine the sugars, honey, and water. Gently stir the mixture so that the sugars begin to dissolve. Bring the mixture to a boil. Then, reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.

2. Remove from heat and allow it to cool for 20 minutes. Add the maple and vanilla extracts and stir.

3. Cool for another 40 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. When cooled to room temperature, fill your jars!

This syrup will stay fresh in the fridge for about 2 months. Share with your friends and neighbors and tell them all about how maple syrup is made . . . from tree to table!

While You’re Cooking:

Think about what is happening to your sugar/water mixture as it is cooking. Why does it change in appearance as you heat it up?

• The sugars dissolve into the water. As the water heats up, the water molecules begin to move more quickly. At the boiling point of water (212 degrees Fahrenheit), the water changes phases, turning from liquid to gas as it evaporates. 
• As more water evaporates, you are left with thick, sugary syrup. This process is exactly the same in real maple syrup production!