How is maple syrup made?

January and February. It's wintertime in Vermont. In this beautiful woodland environment sugar maple trees await early spring. Sugar made by the leaves during summer is stored as starch in the root tissues. As winter loosens its grip in February, the sugarmaker taps the trees. read more

Syrup produced at the beginning of the season is typically lighter in color and sweeter tasting. That maple flavor is not very strong, but is present. This syrup is called 'light' or light amber. As the season progresses, the syrup becomes darker in color and the maple flavor becomes stronger. It first becomes medium amber, then dark amber. read more

Maple syrup is graded according to the Canada, United States, or Vermont scales based on its density and translucency. Sucrose is the most prevalent sugar in maple syrup. In Canada, syrups must be made exclusively from maple sap to qualify as maple syrup and must also be at least 66 percent sugar. read more

To make maple syrup, start by filtering some fresh maple tree sap with a coffee filter, which will get rid of any large pieces of debris. Then, boil the sap in a pan on the stove or over an outdoor fire so the water in the sap evaporates. read more