![]() We already hosted our condo-mates for a lovely pancake breakfast and everyone was delighted to try the hyperlocal syrup. (Crock-pot? Instant Pot? Stove?) ( See all the details here.) In the end we made 5 cups of syrup.įive cups is not a ton, but certainly enough for many a pancake breakfast. We experimented with many different methods for processing this sap into syrup in our home kitchen to find the most practical approach. We learned that southern exposure trumps the underside of a big branch! The southerly tap produced over twice as much (close to 10 gallons) as the northerly tap (nearly 4 gallons). (North tap had stopped running March 21st.) The other tap we placed on the southern side, which is also generally recommended. We placed one tap on the north side because it was under a nice big branch, which we had read was helpful for the sap. We could have tapped them at least a week earlier, but we came up with a collection system last minute and had to wait for our supplies to come in. Having had this experience, I would absolutely do it again and surely increase our production having learned a thing or two. I’m glad we didn’t know our tree’s reputation before we started, because we would have missed out on the delightful experience of bringing pure maple syrup from our own tree to table. Our Experience Tapping a Norway Maple for Maple Syrup I believe this is because, as I pointed out in my first post on the subject, an urban tree has much more room for crowning of branches than a forest tree, which leads to higher sugar content. This is much closer to a typical Sugar Maple. In our experience, the ratio of sap to syrup was about 43 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup. On a Norway Maple this ratio is supposed to be 60 gallons of sap to 1 gallon of syrup. On a typical Sugar Maple, the ratio is 40 gallons of sap to 1 gallon of syrup. ![]() The “experts” say that you get less syrup from a Norway Maple due to lower sugar content. How Much Syrup Can You Get from a Norway Maple? I do NOT recommend planting a Norway Maple (and in many areas you could get in trouble for doing so.) However, since they are currently existing (in great abundance) you should know that they are absolutely suitable to tap for maple syrup. This leads to falling branches, which is obviously a problem in an urban area. The quick-growing wood is weak and prone to rot. Unfortunately the tree has also not proven as valuable as expected in the city. They have now been designated an invasive species. When their seeds reach forested areas they outcompete the native species (including Sugar Maples) and reduce diversity of the forest with their extremely thick shade. As it has turned out, they are extremely prolific and hardy. The Norway Maple was extremely tolerant of urban conditions and grew rapidly, making it a popular choice. They were widely embraced in the mid-20th century as Elms were falling to Dutch Elm Disease. Norway Maples are one of the most common trees found along urban streets. I even found the information online to be muddled, with some saying you CAN’T tap a Norway Maple! Why is the Norway Maple considered a trash tree? I started blogging about our experience, and someone online pointed out that our Maple was a Norway Maple, and “he wouldn’t bother tapping that.” (Pretty cool to learn that you can identify a Norway Maple even in the winter by just looking at the bark!) Then a couple neighbors referred to it as a “trash tree” in conversation. We learned that it was possible to make maple syrup from only one maple tree, and the tree only grew in our esteem. We affectionately refer to our condo as the “treehouse” since it feels like we are up in the canopy. The sun filters through the glorious layers of green leaves, filling our front room on the third floor with nature’s dazzling light play. The large, full tree in front of our condo had been a selling point. ![]() Before embarking on our little front yard maple syruping adventure, I was blissfully ignorant of our tree’s “inferior” status. I would just like to set the record straight on tapping Norway Maples for making your own maple syrup. ![]()
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