Maple Syrup Production

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Maple Syrup Production

• Frank Prive

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What is the maple syrup ?

• The maple syrup is a kind of sweetener made of
  the water collected from some species of maple
  trees during the spring, called the sap.

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A little bit of history...

• The tradition of collecting the maple water and
  boiling it to produce syrup comes from Native
  people of Quebec.
• Long before the arrival of Europeans, they
  appreciated the energy and nutrients.
• Practicing a rudimentary hole with a tomahawk,
  they set at the bottom of the hole a chip of wood
  that transported water to a container made of
  tree bark.
• Then, they were boiling the collected water in
  clay pots to get maple syrup.

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The start of a grand tradition...

• From t the 17th and 18th centuries, this
  tradition passed rapidly to the first settlers
  for whom the syrup represented the first major
  source of sugar. Early settlers boiled the water
  in iron cauldrons. Using rudimentary shelters to
  protect themselves from the cold, they would "run
  the sugars".
• It was for them and to us today, a period of
  celebration for the end of winter and the arrival
  of spring.

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Sugar in trees ?

• Maple trees transform into sugar the starch
  formed during its growth. The sugar is naturally
  mixes with the water absorbed by the roots of the
  tree.
• In the spring, when warmer temperatures come,
  water in the trunk and roots expands and causes
  pressure inside the tree.
• The alternation of cold nights, when the
  temperature is below zero, and days where the
  temperature is above zero, promotes the flow of
  maple sap.

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How do we do maple syrup today?

• Tapping
• In early March, when the snow begins to melt, we
  pierces a hole in the maple tree with a crank or
  an electric drill (in such tree c. 10 cm).

Small maple grove install bins on the trees to
poured maple sap.
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For biggest maple grove

• Tubing (from 1965)
• A system of plastic pipes is place in a network
  that collect the water from maple trees and move
  it to the main building by gravity where it is
  collected through a pressure pump.

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Start of the process

• To control the microbial growth, we must be very
  careful with the installation, maintenance,
  cleaning and sanitation of the tubing.

• Then water made its ways to the maple grove main
  building, where it will be transform.

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Filtration and Sterilization

• The sap is then passed through a filter to take
  out all impurities.
• Adding ultraviolet lamps are an effective means
  of sterilizing the maple sap by destroying
  bacteria and other microorganisms found there.

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Reverse osmosis

• The reverse osmosis takes place within a
  cylinder. The maple sap, contains 2 to 3 sugar,
  at its entrance.
• It passes along a semi-permeable membrane, which
  gradually leaves out some of the water.
• At the exit, there is thus the freshwater that
  we have extracted, and the maple sap concentrate
  containing up to 8 sugar and mineral elements.

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Evaporator

• The syrup must contain around 66 of sugar. So,
  we need to reduce the water content of the sap
  through evaporation. We need a uniform and
  intense fire to keep the sap boiling constantly.
  The taste of the syrup and its color will be
  altered if evaporation is too slow. The sugar
  syrup is reached when the temperature of the
  liquid rises to 3.94 C (7.1 F) above the
  boiling point of water. This results give the
  syrup a density of 66 degrees Brix. The degrees
  Brix is a measure of the sugar content in maple
  products.

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Last filtration

• During the evaporation causes the sugar to be
  concentrated in the syrup, but the minerals too.
  These minerals, known as "Râche", in French, form
  sediment at the bottom of the evaporator and must
  be removed by filtering. We therefore pass the
  hot syrup in thick felt filters to obtain a
  product attractive and clear. Some producers use
  a filter press that pushes the hot syrup through
  a series of very fine filters.

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Packaging

• The syrup is then bottled in glass containers,
  plastic or galvanized metal boxes while still
  very hot (85 C, 185 F or more). This high
  temperature sterilized containers and prevents
  the formation of mold.

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Quality

• Maple syrup is a 110 natural product. Its flavor
  and color vary during the season because of its
  natural composition. In general, as the progress
  of the season, the fructose and glucose
  increased, while the sucrose decreases slightly.
  In addition to the different types of sugar, the
  content of other natural compounds present in
  maple water also varies during the season (amino
  acids, minerals). This change in the composition
  of maple water causes a change in color and taste
  of maple syrup, again depending on the time of
  harvest. Earlier in the season, the syrup is
  clear, subtly sweet taste (extra light syrup,
  light or medium - AA, A or B). It becomes
  increasingly dark and caramelized during the
  season (or dark amber syrup - C or D).

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Others maple products
40 litres of sap 1 litre of syrup