MSPAC offers a Maple 101 course once a year.
You may also download a glossary of terms.
For a full description of the step-by-step process, download the Connecticut Maple Syrup Producers Manual. But the end result is still that beautiful, wonderful tasting amber liquid we call maple syrup. While the basic steps are the same as hundreds of years ago, new processes and technologies have been developed which have increased productivity and ensured consistent high quality syrup. The five steps involved from start to finish are: (1) preparing for the season (2) determining WHEN to tap (3) identifying the trees to be tapped and tapping them, (4) collecting the sap and processing (boiling/evaporating) it (5) filtering, grading and packing the syrup. The simple description is that you collect sap from sugar maple trees and boil (evaporate) it until it reaches the proper density for syrup. The fundamental steps for making pure maple syrup are basically the same as they were hundreds of years ago when the Native Americans first did it and then introduced it to the early immigrants from Europe.
