The process of syrup making—or sugaring, as experts like Bourdon call it—runs between February and April. That’s when temperatures are below freezing at night and warmer in the day. These varying temperatures cause pressure changes inside the trees. The pressure changes allow sap, a liquid that carries nutrients through the trees, to flow more easily.
Workers tap the maple trees by inserting small plastic spouts into their trunks. Only a fraction of the tree’s sap is taken, and the tree isn’t harmed. The spouts connect to long plastic tubes that carry the sap to a building called the sugar house. At this point, the sap is clear and thinner than finished syrup. Machines heat the sap, causing some of the water to evaporate, or turn from a liquid into a gas. Left behind is a thick liquid and some solid minerals. Finally, Bourdon’s team filters out the solids from the amber syrup.
This process takes patience, so Bourdon says syrup makers need to love their jobs. “As a youngster, I was bitten by the maple sugaring bug, and I’m still enjoying it now in my early 70s!”