Many have tried to replicate it, but there is something deliciously unique about maple syrup. The texture and the aroma no doubt contribute to how yummy this syrup is. Today we have all kinds of maple treats available to us, but back in the old days maple syrup had to be made by hand in a long process that was not automated. These old photos show the huge amount of work that was required before you ended up with pure maple syrup for making maple taffy in the snow or for pouring over your pancakes.

2 Boys Making and Eating Maple Taffy in Snow
2 Boys Making and Eating Maple Taffy in Snow. Via: Chris Lund/National Film Board of Canada/ Library and Archives Canada
Tapping Maple Trees 1900
Tapping maples, 1900. Via: Library of Congress

The earliest records of maple sugaring in the US date back to 1609, when colonists recorded how indigenous tribes of what is now known as the Haudenosaunee Confederacy across the Northeastern US and parts of Canada had perfected the process of collecting tree sap and boiling it down for maple syrup. This was used as a source of calories, but also to help flavor and preserve meats, as well as for medicinal purposes.

Ojibwe Woman Boiling Syrup Outdoors in Large Metal Pot
Ojibwe Woman Boiling Syrup Outdoors in Large Metal Pot, early 1900s. Via: Library of Congress

Tapping maple trees involves making cuts in the bark and attaching collection devices to catch the sap that oozes out from the cuts. A stand of maple trees being tapped for maple syrup is known as a sugarbush or a sugar camp.

Traditionally only sugar maples were used for syrup making by settlers, but today red and silver maples are also used. Native Americans would have also tapped black maple and box elder trees for syrup as well. Depending on the species of tree the number of gallons of sap needed to make 1 gallon of syrup can vary between about 40 and 60. While the sap flows on its own, the process of making maple syrup was very labor intensive in the old days.

Collecting Sap from Maple Trees
Via: Ronny Jaques/Library and Archives Canada

In the modern era a series of gravity assisted tubes can auto collect the sap, but in the old days workers would have to collect the sap twice a day from the buckets manually.

Sugar Bush in Huron County Ontario 1900
Via: Huron County Museum & Historic Gaol

The collection process starts in early spring when the weather is still quite cold. As the day warms up though, the trees can give more sap. The process of collecting enough sap to boil down into syrup can takes many days, each requiring time and attention before the boiling process even begins.

Boiling Maple Syrup Outdoors 1900
Via: Library of Congress

Settlers used large iron pots hung outdoors to boil down the sap. Because the ratios needed are so high the boiling process produces a lot of steam as the water evaporates from the sap, so the boiling was often done outdoors. Native American methods for boiling down the sap included using a wooden vessel and to then drop rocks heated by a fire into the sap until the correct viscosity was achieved. Another method was to collect the sap, allow it to freeze, then scrape off the layer of ice on top, leaving the syrup underneath.

Boiling Down Maple Sap to Syrup 1906
Via: Detroit Publishing Co/Library of Congress

Later maple syrup operation utilized flat pans to heat the sap which allowed the moisture to be driven off much more quickly. Maple syrup houses were then used to do the boiling, built especially for the purpose, called sugar houses or sugar shacks.

Boiling Sap for Maple Syrup Indoors 1940
Boiling Sap for Maple Syrup Indoors (in a sugar house) 1940. Via: Library of Congress

At one time maple syrup was one of the most common sweeteners in North America so there were a lot people processing maple sap this way. But, it was worth it since granulated sugar was a luxury product that had to be imported from warm climates, while maple syrup could be made even as the snow still covered the ground.

Using Horse Drawn Sleigh to Collect Maple Sap
Vat on sleigh and pulled by horses is used to collect sap from maple trees, 1940. Via: NYPL Digital Collections
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