There might still be snow in the forests from Quebec and New England to Ontario, Wisconsin and Minnesota, but cold nights and warm days mean that the sap is running. During the past two or three generations, the art of tapping maple trees and preparing syrup and sugar largely has been forgotten, except by a few who follow this as a trade.
Tapping maple trees and making syrup and sugar is an American tradition, and early European settlers learned how from Native Americans. Before the 1860s, maple products were the principle sweetening material used in the United States.
In southern Minnesota, the best sap flows tend to come between the first part of March and the first few days of April, at which point leaf buds swell and sap becomes bitter. Sap flow is triggered by thawing days following freezing nights. Ideal weather for good sap runs involves nights with temperatures near 20 degrees Fahrenheit, together with sunshine and daytime temperatures reaching the 40- to 50-degree range.
Sugar maples, black maples and box elders, also known as ash-leaved maples, are tapped. The red maple and silver maple can also be tapped, but their sap is less sweet. Many trees together are called a sugarbush. Late afternoon is a good time to collect the day's flow.
JIM GILBERT
