I have never seen maple sugaring done, but was wondering what is the difference between the maple syrup that is sold as organic and just the others? Does that mean the maple tree is not sprayed or what? Those of you who do this, can you explain how this would affect the syrup itself? Is there a difference in how it is processed? I am not talking about imitation maple syrup. Thank-you!

-- Marie (Mamafila@aol.com), February 02, 2002

Answers

Marie I think the organic label is just a sales pitch to the organic niche. The sap is collected and boiled down in any number of ways depending on whether it's a backyard or large commercial operation. The end result is the same and oh so good and fun to make.

-- Pete (pdfitz@mkl.com), February 02, 2002.

Pete: The containers always say "Pure", but others do say organic and I wondered if it wasn't a sales pitch. Can any kind of maple trees be taped or just certain varieties? How many trees would one need to tap for the needs of a family? Thank you!

-- Marie in Central Washington (Mamafila@aol.com), February 02, 2002.

I have never heard of anyone spraying maple trees. I do know that in some professional operations there are certain things that can be added to the sap, to prevent problems that may occur when boiling down thousands of gallons. But I don't know how a backyard maple sugar operation could be anything but organic. A tree will give an average of 1 qt. of finished syrup per tap, of course this depends on many variables, but it is an average. I know in New York the organization NOFA is responsible for organic certification and they have a cert. for organic maple syrup production, but I do not know how you would qualify.

-- Bob Fade (fadefarm@aol.com), February 02, 2002.

Maple syrup can indeed be organic. There was a time when sugarers would use something funky in the tapholes (I forget what it was) I'm not sure, but I think it's either illegal or frowned upon now. I also know of some folks who put out poison to kill squirrels that chew their lines. I don't really want rat poison anywhere near a plant (tree) I'm going to get a product from. Another thing these days that wouldn't make syrup organic is the fat used to keep the sap from boiling over. Usually folks use a granulated vegetable based product, some folks use butter. It's a small amount, but if it's not organic, then the maple syrup is not organic.

-- Renee (rmgoyette@hotmail.com), February 02, 2002.

Good grief........organic maple syrup, still don't get it. People fall for this stuff. So what is the price difference?? Very interesting.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), February 02, 2002.

Marie, My brother is a forestry major...he says people used to tap boxelders for sap to make sugar. Interesting thought.

-- Susan in Northern Michigan (cobwoman@yahoo.com), February 02, 2002.

To answer the can all maples be tapped question. Most maples can be tapped (in the early spring- mid febuary to march) The sap runs for 3 or 4 weeks, sometimes strong, sometimes weak, depending on daily conditions. Sugar Maple sap yeilds the least boiling (32 gallons sap to 1 gallon syrup) to achieve finished product. Other maple's sap requires more boiling, and sometimes lower yields per tree. Other trees, birches included, can also be tapped for sweet saps, get or read at the library "The National Audobahn Society Guide to Eastern North American Trees."

-- Kevin in NC (Vantravlrs@aol.com), February 03, 2002.

We moved to suburbia in 1959 and our parents rescued trees from under the power line in those bad-old-days when Hydro still sprayed to keep the right of way clear.

One was a clump of black maple, not as common as sugar maple. When they were big enough, about 10" diameter at waist height, our father got some taps and buckets from a farm supply store. We use a 10" skillet as an evaporator on an electric stove and pint canning jars for storage.

It is not necessary to boil the sap down until it is thick and dark unless you want to sell it. Your state or province will have information if you want to go commercial. We found the black maple sap is sweet enough for our pancakes, most years, at way less than forty units boiled down to one. You can use a candy thermometer and stop boiling when the temperature reaches "syrup" or eyball it. I take some out to cool and taste at 27:1, the surface has lots of tiny bubbles ( not to be confused with the scum that forms when you start boiling, which should be skimmed off ). If you boil too long, the syrup may crystalize in the jar, just add water and heat gently in the oven until it dissolves.

I haven't read "Living the Good Life" by Helen and Scott Nearing in a while, but I think they have chapters relating to their sugar operation when they were back-to-the-landers in the mid century past.

-- Deborah Hardy (virgil@igs.net), February 03, 2002.

A Box Elder is in the maple family, so it can be tapped too. Certainly not a sugar maple quality/quantity, but it's closely related.

--->Paul

-- paul (ramblerplm@hotmail.com), February 03, 2002.

Marie, from what I heard, the "organic" maple farms refuse to use bleach, and fromaldahyde (sp?) to clean their tapping, and processing equipment, which is common practice in the "non organic" market. I'm not sure what the organic farmers use to clean their equipment, but it must be some natural, non-toxic, human safe type cleanser. I assume to be safe, and not use a harse cleanser, the farmers must put in more hours, and that might be the reason for the vast price difference. For the maple farmers that I know in Eastern Canada, the organic labling is a bit of a joke, in that acid rain, and other pollution blows freely from the Eastern Seaboard sprawl, and is accumulated in the maple trees.

-- roberto pokachinni (pokachinni@yahoo.com), February 03, 2002.

FYI - You can also make syrup from birch sap, however it takes more sap to make a gallon compared to sugar maple. With birch, 100 gallons of sap are need to make 1 gallon of syrup. I believe for maple it is about 60 to1. --Happy trails, Cabin Fever

-- Cabin Fever (cabinfever_mn@yahoo.com), February 04, 2002.

hmmm....well, any type of fertilizer to feed the trees or to kill out other stuff could make it not organic quickly. haven't you known people to fertilize their trees every year?

the sap it the blood of the tree, so any chemicals they absorb would be in there richly. to be organic your land has to be certified chemical free for five years, etc. now, if it was a gimmick, and they could make more money from saying it was organic wouldn't they do it? but no, they don't, and why is that?

and, it isn't that much more expensive. i buy it all the time. but doing it at your house, hopefully it is organic anyway. we will be trying it this year....

-- marcee (thathope@mwt.net), February 04, 2002.