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Q: How much sap does it take to make one litre of syrup?
A. It takes 40 litres of sap to make one litre of syrup. |
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Q: What happens to the other 39 litres?
A: Sap contains a large portion of water and a small portion of sugar. During the boiling process, the water is released as steam and what is left becomes the syrup. |
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Q: What are the perfect weather conditions for making syrup?
A: Sap is likely to flow on a bright, sunny day, after a cold night. As a rule, + 5 degrees Celcius and sunny during the day and - 5 degrees Celcius at night is the best "sap" conditions. The tree gives no outward sign that the sap is about to run. "Sap's running" is a phrase, but actually it drips. How fast or slow depends on a variety of factors. |
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Q: What is a refractometer?
A: There are two types of refractometers used in the syrup industry. One measures the percentage of sugar or "sweetness" of the sap and the other measures the percentage of sugar of the syrup. |
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Q: How do you grade syrup?
A: There are a variety of tools on the market to assist us with grading the syrup. Some producers will use a "Grading Kit". This has 4 bottles which contain extra light, light, medium and amber showing the various colour grades. We use a Lovibond. We find this is more accurate for our purposes and much easier to use. |
