Mark asked, " I've heard ratios of around 35:1 or 40:1 for a sap:syrup
ratio.
Is that what you find? How much boiled down syrup would you expect to get
from say, a 15"(dbh) maple?"
Mark,
You are asking an impossible-to-answer question. The amount of sap any
tree will yield depends upon the amount of sap that it is capable of
producing, if you've drilled the hole deep enough and how many freeze/thaw
cycles there are during the sapping season.
As for sap to syrup ratio, most people say 40 to 1. The best I've
gotten was 29:1 but 35:1 is more common. You can expect 40:1, or worse,
after a cool, cloudy summer which is not conducive for sugar production. My
29:1 followed a warm, sunny summer.
When we measure the solids in sap, we are also measuring the amount of
minerals it contains. Fortunately, the sap contains more sugar than
minerals. I calculate my ratio by comparing the number of gallons of sap
that I collected versus the actual amount of syrup produced.
Jim Fruth
Brambleberry Farm
Pequot Lakes, MN 56472
For jams, jellies & syrups:
www.bberryfarm.com
(877)265-6856 [Store]
(218)831-7018 [My Cell]
[NAFEX] Maple syrup per tree,
Jim Fruth, 02/24/2008