Showing 281 – 290 of 361 resources

Vacuum Sap Collection: How High or Low Should You Go?

Questions of how vacuum affects maple sap, syrup and trees have existed for many years, and these issues are perhaps more important today than ever before due to the increasing use of collection systems that can achieve very high levels of vacuum. This article will describe recent research performed at the University of Vermont Proctor Maple Research Center that was designed to answer questions about high vacuum.

Temperature Patterns with an Oil-Fired Evaporator

Knowing the temperature in the evaporator is an essential part to making quality pure maple syrup. This article will discuss observations of temperature in each partition and how the front and back pans temperatures are influenced by the draw off events.

Comparison of the “Small” Spout with the Traditional 7/16″ Spout

The “small” spout, 19/64″ or 5/16″ in diameter, has been widely available to maple producers since the mid to late 1990’s as a “healthy” alternative to the traditional 7/16″ spout. While now in general use by producers in some regions, particularly those collecting sap by vacuum, the utility of these smaller spouts is still questioned by many sugarmakers, particularly those collecting sap by gravity. This article will review several studies conducted at the University of Vermont Proctor Maple Research Center comparing 7/16″ spouts with small spouts (for the purposes of this article, 5/16″, and 19/64″ will be considered equally as “small” spouts).

Results from the 2007 New England tapping survey

Results of an annual survey conducted of New England sugarmakers, capturing information on production practices and results, such as types of equipment used, sap sugar content, sanitation practices, and other data.

Comparison of Visual Grading Methods

There does not appear to have been a published comparison of the different grading kits subsequent to the research that introduced caramel standards followed by glass standards. Consequently, we undertook a comparison of most of the grading kits that are currently in use.

Influence of Demographic Characteristics on Production Practices within the Ohio Maple Syrup Industry

Maple syrup production contributes approximately $5 million annually to Ohioƕs economy and provides supplemental nontimber forest product income for forestland owners. To better understand the factors that influence this important nontimber forest industry in Ohio, including producer heritage, producer age, sap collection methods, size of maple operation, and educational programming, we conducted a detailed survey of all known Ohio maple syrup producers (761 total producers). Over 80% of producers responded to the survey (620 respondents), making our analysis one of the most extensive of a maple industry in North America.

The Chemical Composition of Maple Syrup

This article is meant to be an introduction to the chemistry of maple sap and syrup: in particular, what makes this sweet liquid maple syrup instead of just a concentrated sugar solution? The types of sugars, the trace ingredients, and the mineral content make maple syrup more than just plain sugar water.

Sugar Profiles of Maple Syrup Grades

Although many analyses of the chemical composition of maple syrup have been conducted, relatively little information exists on the differences in composition of the individual syrup grades. As a first step in acquiring this information we performed a study to determine the characteristic sugar composition of each maple syrup grade.

Should Lateral Lines Be Vented?

A great deal has changed since the 1960s and 1970s in terms of maple production and recommended practices, especially given the introduction of the new polyethylene tubing formulations and new types of spouts. Consequently, we are occasionally asked whether lateral lines in gravity tubing installations should be vented. As a result of these questions, we compared sap yield from standard non vented (closed) 5/16″ lateral lines alongside a vented 5/16″ installation under gravity conditions.

Relating Spectrophotometer Readings to Visual Grading of Maple Syrup

Color grading of maple syrup is based on placing syrup samples within four or more categories based either on visual comparison to color references or measurement of light transmission with a spectrophotometer. With a spectrophotometer, specific transmission values are used as break points to divide syrup samples into color grades. The purpose of this report is to describe the lack of agreement between existing light transmission break points and visual grading and how this problem can be addressed.