Maple sap is boiled down during a maple sugaring demonstration by the Berks County Parks and Recreation Department on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, at Gring’s Mill.

Other maple species that can be "tapped" are red and Norway maple. Red maple sap tends to yield less sugar and early budding causes off flavors so it's seldom used in commercial syrup operations.

Sugar maples work best for syrup, she said, since their sap contains two percent sugar compared to 98 percent water, while silver, red and Norway maple sap is only one percent sugar.

Silver maple is quite sweet, but they prefer wetlands and river banks – not places where maple producers typically operate. Even the much-maligned Norway maple can be tapped.

As March fills with maple syrup festivals, we come to learn how maple trees aren't at all like factories or franchises. No. The sap they produce and its sugar content — all necessary to boil it ...

Norway maples typically have 5-7 lobes (commonly 7), sugar maples typically have 5, and black maples typically have 3-5. Black maple’s bottom two lobes are so much less prominent than sugar maple that ...

Maple sap production, essential for syrup, varies based on factors like soil, sunlight, and temperature. Sustained cold weather, like the winter of 2024-25, benefits maple trees and their sap ...

Red maple (acer rubrum) and silver maple have sap sugar content usually between 1.5% to 2%. This means it takes more gallons of sap, more fuel and a longer time frame to boil this down to a gallon ...

Sugar maples work best for syrup, Gauker said, since their sap contains two percent sugar and 98 percent water, while silver, red and Norway maple sap has only one percent sugar.