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.

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 ...

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.

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.