The sugar maple is king of syrupy trees
Living in this area, you don’t have to look far to spot a maple tree. Not all maples are created equal, however, when it comes to producing the syrup that is as Canadian as the flag that bears the maple leaf.
There are six species of sugar maple trees. They thrive on steep, rich soils and during long, bitter winters. Each autumn, the tree provides a spectacular treat when its leaves turn color, painting the landscape with yellow, orange and scarlet.
The main maple producing tree is known as the sugar maple, or hard maple, which is the best provider of the highest quality sap. It grows as tall as 100 feet and is valued for its ornamental shade. It is also used in the production of fine furniture.
A few of the other main types of maple trees are the red maple, the silver maple (or soft maple) and the ash leafed maple (or box elder).
The sugar maple is the main producing tree. The sap from the sugar maple contains about two per cent sugar, while saps from others contain half to two thirds as much. As well, the syrup made from other saps are darker and less flavorful.
While these species of trees can be found in several areas of the world, they mainly find their proper climatic environment for maple sugaring in parts of southern Ontario, Quebec, the Maritimes in Canada as well as the New England States in the U.S. and ten other states as far west as Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Sugar maples can reach a tappable size, under the best conditions, in 30 to 40 years. Carefully tapped, a tree will give, drop by drop, about 12 litres of sap on a warm spring day, and could continue to give sap for a century. During the maple sugaring season, which lasts about six weeks, an average maple tree will yield between 35 and 50 litres of sap, which will produce between 1 and 1.5 litres of pure maple syrup.
ACROSS
1. Process when sap runs
6. Start of season kickoff
7. Natural sweetener for
9. Typical time of sap season (2wrds)
11. Town known for maple syrup.
12. Best condition for sap flow (2wrds)
14. Ingredient removed from sap in boiling process
16. Large stainless steel evaporators also known as
18. Age of tree to be able to tap (2wrds)
21. Syrup producers who collect syrup by horse
23. Tool to tap tree
25. Collecting and processing sap
28. Type of maple also good for sap collecting
29. Elmira festival known for this (2wrds)
30. Best adjective for maple syrup
31. Is produced in boiling process
DOWN
2. Tree taps
3. Used to boil over campfire
4. Collected from tree
5. Largest supplier of maple syrup in the world
8. Stings in your eyes
10. Fuel used to boil sap in sugar shack
13. Best tree type for sap collection
15. Modern sap collection uses this.
17. Holds and reduces down sap.
19. Deciduous is a type of ___
20. Colour of maple that produces sap
22. US state with second highest yield of syrup in the world.
24. They turn red/ orange in the fall
26. Three types of syrup
27. Traditional sap collecting method