This sweet sign of spring
FRANKLIN TWP — As spring approaches, the sun brings warmer days while nights remain cold, conditions that trigger the maple sugaring season.
Primarily practiced in the Northeastern United States and Canada, commercial producers of maple syrup, maple candy and maple sugar will tap thousands of trees, collecting the clear, watery maple sap that looks far different from the popular pancake enhancer.
"It's a miraculous kind of thing," said Todd Garcia-Bish, director of the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program at Camp Lutherlyn, of the process known as maple sugaring.
Camp Lutherlyn has been making maple syrup since 1994, opening the process up for church groups, school field trips and the community.
During the recent Maple Syrup Time event at Lutherlyn, one of the facility's Saturday Safari family programs, participants learned how to spot maple trees in the winter, when leaves are not available for identification.Heath Gamache, assistant director of the environmental education program, told participants the pattern of bud growth on a tree's branches is one way to help identify trees during the winter months.Passing out a variety of twigs and small branches, participants saw patterns of alternating and opposite buds.Gamache noted that maple trees grow with a symmetrical pattern, with buds growing on opposite sides of one another.Since maple trees are not the only species featuring opposite bud growth, Gamache also called attention to the color of the maple branches, gray toward the trunk and changing to a deep red toward the newer growth.Before heading out to search for maples, Gamache told participants how sap moves within a tree.The sugary liquid travels from root to branch, feeding new growth in the spring. Having frozen during a cold winter, the sap will thaw with the arrival of warmer temperatures.Cells within the trees containing carbon dioxide gas also respond to the changing weather, expanding and creating pressure for the sap, pushing it out of the tree once tapped."As soon as you drill the hole, it starts to drip," said Roger DeYoung, who makes syrup at his Cabot home every two to three years as a hobby.According to Gamache, many syrup producers are owners of what is called a sugar bush, or cluster of maple trees.At Lutherlyn, however, the sugar maple and red maple trees grow among several other varieties of trees, giving program participants the opportunity to use their new tree identification skills.Peering up into the branches against a white sky, participants looked for an opposite growth pattern.Confirmed by the scars of several old taps, the Bolander family of McMurray were the first of several small groups to identify a tree to tap in the morning session.
Before drilling a whole with a hand drill, Gamache used a tape measure to ensure the circumference of the tree was at least 32 inches, the smallest trees Lutherlyn will tap.Gamache said younger trees cannot yet afford to lose significant sap."It's just like we don't ask kids to donate blood," he said.He also said trees measuring 45 inches or more could receive two taps, and up to three are placed in trees measuring 62 inches or more.At DeYoung's home, he uses a hand-cranked drill with a 7/16-inch bit or a power drill to make a hole in the tree to accommodate a metal spile, the spout used to direct sap drippings into a collection container.Despite the pressure inside the tree forcing the sap out, Gamache said inserting the spile at an upward angle allows gravity to help the process.With ideal weather, warm days and night temperatures below freezing, DeYoung said the sap can flow rapidly.Tapping six to eight trees in his yard, he empties the 1- to 2-gallon jugs once or twice a day.Choosing the right time to begin tapping can be based on several factors.The North American Maple Syrup Producers Manual, produced by the Ohio State University Extension and the North American Maple Syrup Council, states some producers watch weather predictions for periods of mild weather during the day and freezing temperatures during the night to begin tapping. Others choose a date based on sap flows from the previous calendar year.Though "ideal" temperatures may occur in the late fall, the sugar concentration in the sap is generally higher between February and April, the period when major producers most commonly tap."Predicting when sap will start to run is educated guesswork at best," the manual informs.Tapping too early can lead to contamination of the dry tap holes and tapping too late can mean missing productive early sap runs.With changes in weather, sap can flow for hours or days at a time and syrup producers may see several sap flows through a period of a few weeks or a few months.
Once collected, sap must be boiled down to create syrup or sugar.Gamache estimated it takes 55 gallons of sap to arrive at a gallon of syrup. Tapping more than 100 trees in 2005, the camp ended up with 12 gallons of syrup to be used for its open house and summer camp programs.In a large wooden shed adjacent to the tapped trees at Lutherlyn, volunteer Gordon Bachman is in charge of boiling the sap.The evaporating table is the central feature of the Sugar Shack, with space for program participants to observe on either side.The table, which measures about 2 feet wide and more than 5 feet long, features several channels full of evaporating sap.Steam fills the center of the shack and rises out through vents in the room.Now in his eighth year of syrup making, Bachman, a retired veterinarian, often spends eight-hour days keeping an eye on the caramelizing sugar solution."It takes a considerable amount of attention," Bachman said.The same is true for home syrup makers, according to DeYoung, who uses a large pot over a propane burner to boil down sap on his back porch."When you get down toward the last inch or so you have to watch it," he said. "Sometimes we boil down 5, 10 gallons (of sap) and you just (burn) it in the last five minutes or so."Though DeYoung and his wife Laura judge their finished product by color, consistency and experience, Bachman uses a hydrometer, resembling a large thermometer, metered for maple syrup, to check the water content of the syrup.Before bottling and storing, the boiling brown substance is put through a wool filter, removing any sediments appearing in the boiling process.
According to Gamache, the maple syrup events at Lutherlyn are the most popular among environmental education programs.Garcia-Bish attributes this popularity to the combination of science and history, plus a hands-on learning approach."The kids really were excited because a lot of times when they go on field trips, they just look at things."Though the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture does not have any commercial maple syrup makers registered in Butler County, the state ranks fifth nationally for maple syrup production, with more than 350,000 maple syrup taps.The majority of the maple syrup is produced in the northern part of the state.Limited to the Northeastern United States and Canada by climate and species, both Gamache and Garcia-Bish think the unique nature of the industry draws people in.For the hobbyists, the time-consuming yet simple process of boiling can be rewarding."It's very simple," said Garcia-Bish. "All you have to do is drill a hole in a tree."One thing that has affected all involved has been the taste, sweeter and stronger than less expensive maple-flavored syrups, may be what keeps them coming back."It tastes so good,"said Garcia-Bish. "We don't buy store-bought syrups anymore."
WHAT: Maple sugaring program; includes a history of the process and a tasting of maple syrup made at the centerWHEN: 2 p.m. March 19WHERE: Jennings Environmental Education Center, Route 528, near the intersection of Routes 8 and 173, Brady TownshipCOST: FreeFOR INFORMATION: Call 724-794-6011.
