Caldwell Preserve

Maple Trail
We all know maple syrup as the perfect companion to pancakes, waffles, or French toast, but
how does maple sap end up on our breakfast tables? The answer is maple sugaring, a unique
technique that connects us to local history and nature, which makes maple syrup a delicious,
enriching part of our lives.
History 
The practice of turning maple sap into
maple syrup is traced to northeastern and
midwestern tribes, including the Iroquois,
Ottawa, and Chippewa tribes. European
colonists’ journal entries mentioned maple
syrup as early as 1609, but archaeological
evidence and Native American oral
traditions show that maple syrup existed
long before European colonization.

Process
Maple sugaring typically occurs between
January and March. Cold nights and semi-
warm days are ideal for the sap to move up
through the tree, freeze, thaw, and then
flow into a bucket. To collect sap, a
harvester must stick a spile into a tree. The
spile does not harm the tree just like how Nature Center
donating blood does not harm a person.
Here at Caldwell, we use an aluminum
spile, but others use plastic. A bucket hangs Evaporator
below the spile to collect the sap. Once the
bucket is full, the sap gets poured into an
evaporator, where it is heated to reach the
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desired density and flavor. It can take up to
14 hours to evaporate 20 gallons of sap. Maple Trail
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Maple Trail
History and Legend

This portrait, created by Seth Eastman in 1853, depicts a Native American

sugar camp. The people in this painting are collecting maple sap and turning
it into maple syrup. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.
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Maple Trail
Identification

These sketches show a sugar maple leaf, fruit, and twig. Because
maple sugaring only happens in the winter, knowing what a maple
twig looks like can help you identify the right tree for tapping.
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Maple Trail
Maple Sugaring Process

These images show the spiles used to harvest maple sap from trees. Buckets hang
from the spiles to collect the sap as it flows.
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Maple Sap Evaporator

This is the evaporator. The evaporator is the device that

heats maple sap into maple syrup.