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22 North American Natural Resources: Timber and Forest Products
tap is placed into the hole so that it reaches about 2 inches (5 centimeters) into the
tree. There is a hook on the end of it from which a sap bucket, with a cover, can be
hung. When conditions are right, the sap will flow in the bucket.
Sap is a thin, light-colored liquid. It is sweet, but not sweet like syrup. Maple
syrup is made by boiling the water out of the sap. In general, it takes 40 gallons
(151.4 liters) of sap to make 1 gallon (3.7 liters) of syrup. This helps explain why
pure maple syrup is so expensive. Some of the most popular brands of syrup
in stores are not made from maple sap at all; they are made of corn syrup and
coloring, so they are less expensive than real maple syrup.
A Long Wait
It takes about 40
years for a maple tree
to grow large enough
to tap for maple
syrup. After that, the
tree can produce sap
indefinitely. Some
trees that are being
tapped now have
been around since
the US Civil War in
the 1860s.
A sugar maple tree
in Whonnock, British
Columbia.