The CV Maple Project is a joint effort between Cumberland Valley
Agricultural Sciences and the CV FFA chapter. Students in CV's Food
Science, Plant Science, and Ag Mechanics courses take part in each step
of the process while FFA members utilize the maple project as a chance
to educate elementary students and community groups about transforming a
raw commodity (maple sap) into a consumable product (maple syrup).
The
process begins with tapping maple trees. Tapping involves drilling a
5/16" hole through the bark of a maple tree. Sugar maples are the
preferred tree to tap since their sap contains up to 2% sugar. A spile (either made of
plastic or metal) is hammered into the newly drilled hole. The spile
will collect sap from the xylem of the tree and direct it outside. A
blue collection bag is hung on the spile to collect the sap as it runs
out the tree. Some maple producers utilize buckets (galvanized or
plastic) to collect sap while commercial maple producers utilize tubing
that connects from tree to tree and drains to a central location.
Once
sap is collected, it needs to be boiled down into syrup. 98% of sap is
water, which needs is boiled away to concentrate the sugar. It takes
approximately 40 gallons of sap to create 1 gallon of maple syrup. The syrup is bottled after it is put through filters to remove any "sugar sand"
which may crystallize if the sap is boiled too long.