![]() The tree’s diameter should be 10 inches minimum at 4.5 ft above the ground. Additionally, maple trees have paired leaves and buds.Īfter identifying the species, the next most important thing is to make sure the tree is big enough to support tapping. One detail to look for in the winter is the winged seeds, which have similar structure across all maple species. For help identifying the most common maple trees in Utah, check out the resources at the bottom of the page. The best time to identify maple trees is in the summer or fall before they drop their leaves. ![]() This article does not cover commercial tapping operations. The Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest does not have commercial maple syrup related permits (as of December 2022), partly because this is such a new area of interest.Īlways be mindful of the environment and choose trees in locations that are not near high traffic areas where your bucket and tap will be disturbed. However, since maple tapping is not commonly done in the West, it is very likely that they will not know what you are asking. If you want to harvest maple syrup from your local National Forest, first call the Ranger District office near you. If you don’t own maple trees and don’t know anyone who would let you use their trees, you may want to consider tapping public trees. It is best to use your own maple trees, whether that is in your front yard or in the woods on your property. Further resources are listed at the bottom of this article. The purpose of this article is primarily to introduce the process and discuss some details that are specific to the Intermountain West area. There are many great resources for how to tap trees and produce delicious syrup. A growing number of people are interested in producing maple syrup in Utah, using both native and introduced maple species. Although most maple syrup is produced from sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and red maple (Acer rubrum) trees, it is possible to collect sap from many other maple species. A tap or two will not injure a healthy tree, and a single tap can yield 10 to 20 gallons (37.8 to 75.7 L.) of sap.Maple syrup is made by collecting sap from a maple tree in late winter / early spring and boiling it until it is 66% sugar concentrate. If this sounds appealing, by all means give it a try. The sap turns into sugar at 219 degrees Fahrenheit (103.8 Celsius) when the sugar content reaches about 66 percent. These are used to direct the sap into buckets.Īfter the sap is collected, you must heat it to boil off the excess water. You drill small, shallow holes into the trunk of the trees to be tapped and insert small wooden or metal spouts called spiles. ![]() The process itself is quite simple and undertaken in late winter when nighttime temperatures are below freezing and daytime temperatures are above freezing. If you are ready to jump into this popular wild-fooding pastime, you may need some basic information on how to tap trees for sap. One potential issue with tapping walnut trees is the pectin levels in the sap that can make filtering it extremely difficult. The syrup from walnuts tastes a lot like maple syrup but a little nuttier. Walnut trees, especially black walnut ( Juglans nigra), are also trees you can tap for sap. With birches, it takes 150-200 gallons (567.8 – 757 L.) of sap to produce one gallon (3.78 L.) of syrup. What about other trees for syrup? Birch syrup production is popular among maple sugar producers since the sap in birch trees doesn't start flowing until the sap flow in maples is ending in early spring. Some of the best alternative maple trees for tapping include the red maple ( Acer rubrum), silver maple ( Acer saccharinum), and boxelder ( Acer negundo).
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