By Doug La Rocque
The ins and outs of maple sugaring filled the classroom at the Park Office Saturday, as Park Naturalist Liz Wagner took children and adults through all the steps of making your own maple syrup at home. The afternoon started with a short classroom presentation, then outside to learn to identify a sugar maple tree by its bark, branches and leaves. Once found, picking the best spots and side of the tree, usually the south side because that is the sunniest. [private]
Wagner then enlisted the help of the children to tap the tree and properly place the bucket. After a bucket of sap is collected, on to the boiling down process. As most know, it takes quite a bit of sap to make maple syrup. In fact, the ratio is 40 gallons of sap to one gallon of syrup.
Warm sunny days are the best weather to start tapping your trees, and Mother Nature was most cooperative Saturday. The normal sap season for Eastern Rensselaer County runs from mid- February to late March. The ideal conditions for good sap runs are cold nights and warm days.
Wagner also warns you should always boil your sap outside over a fire or gas grill. Boiling off 39 gallons of water from your sap inside is sure to ruin your kitchen. Many reference materials about maple sugaring are available from the park office or by contacting them at 279-1155. [/private]