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Why are my tapholes leaking and what can I do about it? (Part 2) Being able to recognize what is really a leak and what is not takes some time and thought and experience. This article offers some tips.
Periodical: Maple Syrup Digest
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Effect of Chemical Descaling of Evaporator Back Pans During the Season on the Properties of Maple Syrup
The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of using acid on the chemical composition and the sensory quality of syrup produced after cleaning.
Tree Size Matters
In order to develop models of tree size and yield we measured the sap volume and sugar content from a wide range of tree sizes during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. This article explores the findings.
Do Invasive Worms Threaten Northeast Maple Forests?
Some maple producers have reported low sugar maple regeneration that could be related to the presence of worms. This second wave of invasion by Asian earthworms is of concern to forest ecologists because of its potential disruption to the forest.
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Why are my tapholes leaking and what can I do about it? (Part 1) There are often several issues involved in leaking tapholes, and sometimes the applied remedy itself turns out to be the actual problem.
Assessment of the Flavor of Syrup Produced with High-Brix RO Systems
Concentrating sap with reverse osmosis (RO) substantially increases the efficiency and profitability of processing maple sap into syrup by reducing the amount of fuel and time required to complete concentration to syrup density in the evaporator, with gains proportional to the level of sap pre-concentration. Because most flavor development in maple syrup occurs through nonenzymatic browning reactions as sap is processed with heat in the evaporator, it has often been speculated that reduced evaporator processing time resulting from the use of RO might also result in perceptible impacts on syrup flavor. However, a series of controlled experiments conducted at the University of Vermont Proctor Maple Research Center using the same sap processed to different levels with RO determined that concentrating sap up to 21.5% prior to boiling in standard maple evaporators had no substantive effects on syrup composition or flavor.
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Should I use 3/16″ or 5/16″ tubing? One of the first questions maple producers face when deciding to tube (or retube) a sugarbush is whether to use 3/16″ or 5/16″ tubing. This article explains some of the general rules that can be helpful in narrowing down the pros and cons of each approach.
Gravity Filtering: Simple tools and techniques for filtering small batches of maple syrup
To ensure that your maple syrup is the best it can be, filtering out contaminants before packing is critical. Using paper and cloth filters to do so is an acceptable and inexpensive option.
Gravity Filtering: Simple tools and techniques for filtering small batches of maple syrup
Many producers use a filter press, which uses a pressure pump to push the syrup through a series of metal plates and frames, separated by single-use pieces of filter paper which capture the particles and result in crystal-clear syrup. For smaller producers, however, using paper and cloth filters and letting gravity pull the syrup through is an acceptable and far less expensive option.
Potential Plastic Residues in Maple Sap and Syrup Following Isopropyl Alcohol Sanitation of the Tubing System
In recent years isopropyl alcohol (IPA) sanitation was proposed after the sugar season to significantly reduce the microbial load and start the next sugar season with a sanitized system. This study was conducted to evaluate the potential leaching of chemical compounds found in plastic polymers used in maple sap collection system tubing.