6. How much sap is needed to make syrup?
Around 98 percent of maple sap is water. It takes approximately 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple sugar. Farmers boil off water over a fire. The remaining golden brown syrup is then bottled for sale. Some farmers boil the syrup down further to form sugar crystals.
Farmers have always sought to improve their equipment and techniques over the years. This evolution has led to the development of “evaporators”, which are large frying pans that have a wood-burning firebox underneath.
Modern extraction technology has transformed the landscape of many producers. Farmers now use cordless drills for tapping the sugar trees. Vacuum pumps are used to extract more sugar from the trees. Then, it is run through plastic tubing into giant storage tanks. Oil-fuel furnaces are used by farmers for the boiling stage and reverse osmosis filtering is used to remove any water.
The process is the same, regardless of the advances in technology: extract and boil. The maple syrup produced by Native Americans still has all its properties.
