Guide to Maple Tapping: A Tree to Table Handbook for the Maple Tapper

by Julie Fryer

Fun for all ages and a great way to spend time with friends and family, collecting maple sap and making your own maple syrup is easier than you think – especially with this helpful Guide to Maple Tapping. Filled with step-by-step instructions and photos, this book walks you through the entire process from tapping a tree to enjoying your first stack of pancakes. Whether you’re a beginner or a lifelong sugarmaker, you’ll find essential information •Identifying and selecting the best trees. This updated Second Edition also includes a chapter on tapping and making syrup from non-sugar maple trees such as boxelder, birch, and walnut.•Assembling your supplies and prepping your very own sugar shack•Drilling the taphole and multiple ways to collect sap•Filtering instructions and advice on storage•Complete directions and tips for boiling sap into syrup•Recipes and cooking ideas for using pure maple syrup•Interviews, anecdotes, and advice from professional sugarmakers and lifelong hobbyists•Interesting facts, tips, and much, much more!

90 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2014

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid guide to tapping maple trees and making your own maple syrup. Some of the instructions are a little confusing and I feel like I have to distill it down by writing my own protocol. But, on the whole, it covers everything from how maple trees make the sugary sap to begin with, to tree identification, tapping the trees, collecting the sap, boiling the sap, and storage of the final product. There's even a section about tapping alternatives to the maple tree, like birch, black walnut, hickory, and sycamore. none of them seem appealing though. Maple syrup recipes included at the end.

[Fox R · Rating 4 out of 5]

wish it had more info on cooking the sap, expect syrup in the near future