Maple Syruping Glossary

Buddy syrup: made from late spring sap, it has a strong odor and woody taste

Collecting pail: container with a handle used to carry sap from trees to the storage tank

Evaporator: kettle or pan to boil down the sap

Finishing pan: for more controlled final boiling of concentrated sap to finished syrup

Hydrometer: glass float for testing the sugar content of say or syrup by measuring the density of dissolved solids

Liquid gold: early ‘first run’ syrup that is light and delicate in flavor

Jack wax: taffy-like candy made by pouring hot syrup onto snow

Jersey milk: potent beverage made by mixing syrup with milk and hard cider

Maple butter: hot syrup poured into a flat dish and stirred continuously

Maple moon: early spring moon when the sap begins to rise

Sap: the tree’s food, consisting of water, minerals and organic substances such as sugar

Sap bucket: container used to collect sap

Sap run: sap flow in the spring when conditions are just right to produce sap for syruping

Spile: hollow spout which directs the sap into a collecting container

Spile hook: a metal or plastic hook attached to the spile for hanging a bucket

Sugarbush: stand of sugar or black maples

Sugarshack: where the sap is boiled down to syrup

Syrup grade: quality of syrup based on color. For lighter colored syrup, evaporation time is minimal.

Syrup pan: a large, shallow pan, usually containg a series of alternating baffles in which the sap is boiled

Tap: the hole drilled into the tree to collect sap