This table shows the amount of sap that was collected, various environmental conditions, and its sugar content over the entire season. The amount of sap is dominated by the weather conditions. Cold nights followed by warm days produce the most sap. The sap and weather for each run can be seen in the table. The sugar content determines how much sap is required to make a gallon of syrup. A rule of thumb that is often used is that 86 gallons of sap with 1% sugar content is needed to make one gallon of syrup. Since this relationship is linear, you can estimate that it would take 43 gallons of 2% sap to make one gallon of syrup, and so on. Sugar Maple trees yield the highest sugar content with 2-3% and hence, are the most desirable to tap. The sugar content, like the weather, can vary quite a bit over the season as well, so it’s important to monitor.
