Collecting sap and making your own maple syrup may seem like a daunting task, but it may be more accessible than you think.
“Demystifying” the process is one of the main goals of the Kemp Station Maple Sugaring Demonstration Day this Saturday.
“We're trying to attract our folks that are curious about maple sugar and what the process is all about. Maybe they've got a couple trees of their own, and we want to kind of demystify the process, show you some of the different tools and techniques that you would need to learn about to actually make it happen for yourself,” said Tony Johnson, a forestry outreach specialist with UW Madison Extension.
Johnson says maple sugaring is a simple process in that at its base a person needs to collect sap and then evaporate the water until you get syrup.
“There's a lot of different pieces of each steps from going out in the woods and tapping your trees in the right way to know that you're not doing any damage, to handling that sap with confidence, knowing that you're making a food safe product,” said Johnson.
Maple sugaring has long been practiced by indigenous people.
One of the demonstrations will be learning how to make traditional birch bark sugar cones from members of the Lac du Flambeau and Menominee Tribes.
“We're going to have room for 20 participants to actually go through the process of taking the maple sap and turning it into sugar cone, which is a pretty unique opportunity,” said Johnson.
There will also be workshops finishing and bottling syrup, guided tours of the sugarbush, and equipment demonstrations.
People can also bring in maple syrup they’ve made for quality and judging contest.
“We look at the color, the sugar, quantity, the clearness of the syrup, and then also the flavor,” said Johnson.
The Demonstration Day is an open house at Kemp Station in Woodruff from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 11th. You can find the workshop schedule on the Kemp Natural Resource Station website.
The event is free. There is no registration.
“I just encourage folks to come on check out a workshop, or stay for the whole day, or just come and say hi, but I think it'd be a great opportunity to see the station, get a great chance to be out in the woods in a beautiful time of year and take part in great tradition of maple sugaring,” said Johnson.
Johnson recommends wearing boots. The event will go on rain or shine.
