Showing 81 – 90 of all 712 resources in the database
The University of Vermont Proctor Maple Research Center and the Cornell Maple Program Arnot Forest conducted a multi-year study examining several common sanitation strategies and assessing the effects on sap yield, attendant costs, and resulting net profits. The following graphs briefly summarize the results of this work.
These 9 variables are intended to help a potential commercial maple producer evaluate the relative merits of one or more selected woods for profitable maple production. A poor or medium rating does not mean that the woods should not be tapped but that production costs in money or labor will likely be higher or greater investments will be necessary to allow the sap collection to be established relative to other sites. Some problems may be avoided if the potential producer is a creative problem solver. Small-scale producers and hobby producers have less emphasis on financial return, so these variables are relevant but perhaps not weighted as heavily.
These 9 variables are intended to help a potential commercial maple producer evaluate the relative merits of one or more selected woods for profitable maple production. A poor or medium rating does not mean that the woods should not be tapped but that production costs in money or labor will likely be higher or greater investments will be necessary to allow the sap collection to be established relative to other sites. Some problems may be avoided if the potential producer is a creative problem solver. Small-scale producers and hobby producers have less emphasis on financial return, so these variables are relevant but perhaps not weighted as heavily.
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.
We compared tree growth and crown condition with soil and foliar elemental composition in 14 sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) stands in VT, USA, to evaluate if deficiencies or imbalances in cation nutrition were associated with growth and health reductions in native stands. The Till Source Model (TSM) was used to select study sites potentially high or low in calcium (Ca) by predicting the relative Ca concentration of soil parent material derived from glacial till. The TSM successfully identified high or low levels of soil Ca (P = 0.031) and foliar Ca (P = 0.011) among stands.
Common problems with sugaring equipment and how to avoid them.
A step-by step guide for small-scale, beginning sugarmaking.
The advent of plastic tubing systems to collect sap has eliminated several problems associated with the traditional bucket system. However, plastic tubing systems also present some problems of their own. Sap quality problems arise if the lines sag and the sap lingers within the tubings or the large conduits. In addition, the warming effect of the sun increases the tem perature within the tubing to optimum levels for microbial growth and sap flow may decrease because of “organic buildup” on the internal tubing walls. This buildup is a result of the adhesion of microorganisms to the tubing walls.
The Arc-Barb Spout (UVM Patent Pending) is designed with a shortened barrel to allow improved sap flow from the shallower, more productive sapwood zones in maple stems.
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.