Showing 441 – 450 of all 693 resources in the database
Though it is not well known, all species of walnut (Juglans spp.) produce a sweet sap that can be boiled down into valuable syrup. There is a well-established resource of black walnut (Juglans nigra) trees throughout eastern North America that could be utilized for syrup production to complement existing sugaring operations.
Today we are at the UVM Proctor Maple Research Center in Underhill Center, Vt. with center director Dr. Timothy Perkins, Jean Francois Goulet of Lapierre Equipment and Proctor’s Abby Van Den Berg, boiling on a Lapierre HyperBrix system with 35 percent concentrate. The new technology takes out 2/3rds of the water from the sap before it hits the evaporator. Lapierre donated the equipment to the Proctor center to support research. Van Den Berg’s findingsÑfollowing a blind taste test last fall with a group of volunteersÑ found there is no noticeable taste difference between syrup produced in a high brix process vs. conventional syrup.
Pure maple syrup is on the rise in a declining overall market for pourable syrups. We are moving in the right direction, but still have a long way to go.
University of Rhode Island researcher Navindra Seeram, who specializes in medicinal plant research, has found more than 20 compounds in maple syrup from Canada that have been linked to human health, 13 of which are newly discovered in maple syrup. In addition, eight of the compounds have been found in the Acer (maple) family for the first time.
These handy cards provide checklists for color, clarity, density, and flavor, with notes on why syrup may not measure up to standards.
The most helpful advice for producers concerned about damaging otherwise good syrup is the most basic; make sure to grade each batch carefully and don’t assume that just because everything went smoothly in the sugarhouse that the syrup doesn’t need to be checked. The following is a list of problems that can occur with the four primary qualities of syrup, and how to avoid them.
Ten years ago, 3/16” diameter tubing was introduced to the marketplace as an alternative tubing to 5/16” diameter tubing. However, recent research shows that sap production in 3/16” tubing drops off as soon as the second year after installation due to microbial growth. A replacement for 3/16” diameter tubing in gravity systems could be 1/4” tubing. With almost twice the aperture of 3/16” tubing (0.049 sq inches compared to 0.0275 sq inches), 1/4″ inch tubing is less likely to plug from microbes yet is still able to create a full column of sap for gravity vacuum. Quarter-inch tubing is currently not available for maple producers but can be procured from other industries and, with modifications, will work for maple production.
The Federation of Quebec Maple Producers (FPAQ) was founded in 1966 to help Quebec producers bring maple syrup to market. Today, FPAQ represents 13,500 producers who collectively make ~72% of the worldÕs maple syrup crop. David Hall is one of the 13 Directors in the organization. He provides an overview of the organization and its various marketing efforts.
Ice storms and resulting injury to tree crowns occur frequently En North America, Reaction of land managers to injury caused by the regional ice storm of January 1998 had the potential to accelerate the harvesting of northern hardwoods due to concern about the future loss of wood production by injured trees. To assess the effect of this storm on radial stem growth, increment cores were collected from northern hardwood trees categorized by crown injury classes. For a total of 347 surviving canopy dominant and subdominant trees, a radial growth index was calculated (mean annual increment for 1999-2000 divided by the mean annual increment for 1995-1997).
This research shows trends in sap yield in US states and Quebec from 2001-2014.