Resource type: Practical Skills

Showing 1 – 10 of 300 resources

Syrup with Saps

Business is booming if you own a commercial sugar bush! As forest managers, this means more and more of us are hearing from landowners interested in starting or maintaining a sugar bush. Unfortunately, if you are like us, you did not learn about maple syrup in forestry school. This episode’s guest, Mark Isselhardt, Extension Maple Specialist with the University of Vermont, helps us unpack the fundamentals of sap production, sugar bush management, and how the industry has changed in the 21st century.

Date:
April 9, 2023

Tapping guidelines for maple syrup production

Guidelines for tapping maple trees have existed for well over 100 years. Early tapping guidelines came about when buckets (gravity collection) were the only technology available for harvesting sap. New tapping guidelines are based on years of research into maple tree growth, sap harvesting practices/technology and a recognition that tree diameter alone does not fully explain all the factors that determine if tapping intensity in a given sugarbush is sustainable. This fact sheet presents sustainable tapping guidelines.

Date:
April 9, 2023

Study Suggests Promising Ways to Market Maple

In 2020, the New York State Maple Producers’ Association, in cooperation with the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, applied for and was awarded a USDA Acer Access and Development Program grant to conduct market research on the US consumer maple target audience. The project was designed to expand research, education, and extension efforts involving market sizing, audience research, and message testing, development, and planning to: 1) identify market opportunities, 2) optimize messaging, and 3) develop a market promotion and evaluation plan. The purpose of this work is to develop marketing tools and methods to increase the awareness of, and a rationale for, choosing pure maple syrup among audiences representing the greatest market opportunity. The program will achieve this goal through the development of research-driven messaging, market promotion strategies, and communications planning.

Publication:
Maple Syrup Digest
Date:
December 1, 2022

Invasive Insects of Eastern North American Sugarbushes

Invasive pests have been identified as one of the major threats to biodiversity worldwide. Many bodies, including the United Nations, recognize invasive species for the long-term detrimental impacts that they could have on our ecosystems. The most cost- and effort-saving way of dealing with invasive species is to prevent their initial spread into an area. This guide provides a brief summary of invasive insect pests threatening maple-producing regions of eastern Canada and the United States.

Publication:
Maple Syrup Digest
Date:
December 1, 2022

Maple Sports Drink

The Cornell Maple Program developed two athlete-approved recipes for a Tart Cherry and a Tangerine Maple Sports Drink. These beverages are designed to hydrate and replenish carbohydrates and electrolytes lost during physical activity. Because of the health-benefits (antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals), Maple Sports Drinks can be marketed as a functional beverage, a lucrative market projected to increase 7.8% from 2021 to 2028.

Date:
November 27, 2022

Mappleau Recipe

A recipe for making Mappleau, a maple-derived liqueur made from distilled maple wine and sweetened with pure maple syrup.

Date:
November 27, 2022

Maple Cream Troubleshooting

This article provides guidelines for addressing issues commonly encountered when making maple cream. Maple cream is a thick, smooth, spreadable confection derived from maple syrup. Its peanut butter-like texture develops when small sugar crystals are formed and held in a supersaturated or concentrated syrup solution. The consistency and quality are controlled by water content and inverted sugar levels.

Date:
November 27, 2022

Basics of Maple Marshmallows

The objective of this bulletin is to provide information on maple marshmallows for commercial production. This document includes an overview of marshmallow composition, a recipe, regulation requirements, information on packaging and food additives, market projections, and pricing information. Further, this article is the first in a subset of the “Marshmallow Series”, which also includes Dehydrating Maple Marshmallows, and Maple Marshmallow Spread.

Date:
November 27, 2022

A Summary of Regulations Governing Maple Syrup Production in Wisconsin

Pure Maple Syrup production in Wisconsin is regulated primarily by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). This document assembles the various components of information to assist veteran and new producers of maple syrup in Wisconsin with the basic federal and state regulations impacting the maple syrup industry.

Date:
November 27, 2022