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2014 -15 Maple Tubing Research

In 2014 and 2015 the focus of the tubing and taphole sanitation research changed dramatically. Tests conducted in 2013 showed that if the spout and drop line were adequately sanitized sap yield comparable to a new spout and drop could be obtained. With the assistance of a grant from the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Extension program of the USDA and in cooperation with the Proctor Maple Research Center in Vermont, a variety of spout and drop cleaning and replacement options were tested to determine the extent of sap yield changes.

Date:
June 11, 2015

A Cost Analysis: Processing Maple Syrup Products

A cost analysis of processing maple sap to syrup for three fuel types, oil-, wood-, and LP gas-fired evaporators, indicates that: (1) fuel, capital, and labor are the major cost components of processing sap to syrup; (2) woodfired evaporators show a slight cost advantage over oil- and LP gas-fired evaporators; however, as the cost of wood approaches $50 per cord, wood as a fuel would no longer have this cost advantage; (3) economies of scale exist in processing maple sap to syrup; (4) in 1977 the total cost of production, including both sap production costs and processing costs, for a medium-size (750) gallons of syrup) operation was $8.36 per gallon of syrup for oil-fired evaporators, $7.97 per gallon of syrup for wood-fired evaporators, and $8.37 per gallon for LP gas-fired evaporators.

Date:
January 1, 1979

A Silviciltural Guide for Developing a Sugarbush

A practical guide for the management of a sugarbush. Guidelines are established for the manipulation of stand density and stocking to promote the development of healthy vigorous trees with deep, wide crowns, the necessary attributes for highest possible yield of sugar-rich sap.

Date:
January 1, 1974

Analysis of Pure Maple Syrup Consumers

Virtually all of the pure maple syrup production in the United States is in the northern states of Maine, Masachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Wisconsin. Pure maple syrup users living in the maple production area and users living in other areas of the United States were asked a series of questions about their use of pure maple syrup and their responses were compared. User attitudes toward the product, syrup-use patterns, syrup-packaging characteristics, and syrup-purchasing patterns are identified and discussed.

Date:
January 1, 1974

Consumer Preference for Graded Maple Syrup

The three grades of maple syrup and a commercial table syrup containing artificial flavor and 3 percent pure maple syrup were evaluated by 1,018 women in four cities. The results indicate that differences in preference for flavor are related to how close the respondents are to a maple syrup-production region. Differences in preference among grades of pure maple syrup were slight and in reverse order of the quality implied by the Federal grading standard. Outside of the region of maple syrup production, differences in preference between pure maple syrup and the commercial table syrup were marked, and favored the commercial syrup.

Date:
January 1, 1978

Economic Feasibility of Commercial Maple Syrup Production in Illinois

For Illinois farmers, the maple resource is poised to be tapped given that 1.8 of the total 4.3 million acres of Illinois woodlands exists on farms. Industry standards suggest that a properly managed maple tree resource producing an average sap sugar concentration of 2 percent and an average volume per tap per season of 10 gallons of sap is necessary for a commercial maple syrup venture to succeed.

Publication:
Proceedings of the 14th Central Hardwood Forest Conference
Date:
March 16, 2004

Increasing the Efficiency of Maple Sap Evaporators with Heat Exchangers

A study of the engineering and economic effects of heat exchangers in conventional maple syrup evaporators indicated that: (1) Efficiency was increased by 15 to 17 percent with heat exchangers; (2) Syrup produced in evaporators with heat exchangers was similar to syrup produced in conventiona lsystems in flavor and in chemical and physical composition; and (3) Heat exchangers reduce per unit production costs, and can yield greater production and higher profits.

Date:
January 1, 1977

Plastic Tubing and Maple Syrup Quality

Maple syrup made from sap collected using improperly or carelessly installed plastic pipelines varied more in color from day to day, and was more often darker in color, than sap collected from either the property installed pipeline or clean, frequently emptied galvanized buckets. Use of both properly installed tubing and buckets, following recommended procedures, produced light colored syrup of equal quality throughout the entire maple syrup season.

Date:
January 1, 1978

Processing Maple Syrup with a Vapor Compression Distiller: An Economic Analysis

A test of vapor compression distillers for processing maple syrup revealed that: (1) vapor compression equipment tested evaporated 1 pound of water with .047 pounds of steam equivalent (electrical energy); open-pan evaporators of similar capacity required 1.5 pounds of steam equivalent (oil energy) to produce 1 pound of water: (2) vapor compression evaporation produced a syrup equal in quality to that from a conventional open-pan evaporation plant; and (3) a central plant producing 8,000 gallons of syrup per year should yield a return of 16 percent on investment. Increasing annual product output should increase the return on investment.

Date:
January 1, 1977