How to Make Maple Syrup

In this video, This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook and maple sugarmaker James Nielsen tap maple trees to make maple syrup.

Filtering Tip: Maple sugarmaker James Nielsen explains that when you boil sap, sediment called niter precipitates out and needs to be filtered. He pours the finished syrup through heavy-duty filter fabric, but notes that for home sugaring, “I would double up on coffee filters. Sure, that would work.”

Steps:

1. Identify a sugar maple tree by tight, brown, pointed buds, and large oval-shaped crown.

2. Drill a slightly upward-angled hole into each maple tree. Position the hole about 3 feet above the ground.

3. Use a hammer to gently tap spile into hole in tree.

4. Hang a sap bucket from the spile or attach a flexible collection tube.

5. Build a homemade sap evaporator by stacking 8-inch x16-inch concrete blocks around a metal smoke stack.

6. Lay a barbecue grate across the blocks, positioning it 16 inches above the ground.

7. Install a second, narrower barbecue grate 8 inches above the first grate.

8. Drill a ⅛-inch-diameter hole into the side of a large metal can. Position the hole just above the can bottom. Place the can onto the upper grate.

9. Set a large roasting pan onto the lower grate.

10. Stack several pieces of kindling and seasoned firewood under the roasting pan. Set the wood on fire.

11. Pour the sap collected from the maple trees into the metal can. Be sure the sap drains from the can into the roasting pan below.

12. Heat the sap to evaporate its water. Add more sap to the warming pan, as needed.

13. Frequently check the temperature of the sap with a candy thermometer. When it reaches 219 degrees F, it converts to maple syrup. It takes approximately 39 gallons of sap to produce one gallon of syrup.

14. Pour the syrup through cheesecloth, then store in sterilized bottles.

Pro Tip: This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook recommends drilling on the south side of the tree: “When you’re tapping the trees in the early spring, this is gonna warm up faster than the other side. You’ll get a real good sap flow and more sap in your bucket.”

Tools

Drill Bit Note: Depending on your tap style, you’ll need either a 5/16-inch or 7/16-inch drill bit. As demonstrated in a This Old House segment on maple sugaring, a standard battery-powered drill with a 5/16-inch bit works well for home use — just drill at a slight upward angle about an inch and a half deep so the sap flows out of the tree naturally.