Maple trees are n’t the only lettuce bushes that offer the prime ingredient fordelicious syrup — sap can be tapped from birch , walnut , sycamore , boxelder and ironwood tree , as well . Where I subsist in Kentucky , we do n’t have many sugar maple , but walnut trees are everywhere . The trees were once used for their nut crop or as a lumber beginning to be cut down and sold to brook a farmer ’s retreat . sirup tapping is rare in these share , but when I came across several article about tapping walnut tree Tree for their sap , I knew I had to try it .
The workweek between Valentine ’s Day and St. Patrick ’s Day are supposed to be the most optimal time to tap black walnut tree trees in Kentucky . In general , ideal tapping temperature are when the Nox are freeze but the days are warm . Over the past two week , I ’ve collected about 3 gallons of cutting cosh from a sum of four trees .
The syrup is delicious , with a golden color and rich butterscotch sapidity . My only problem with this experiment has been not having enough sap !
The walnut sirup seems perfectly design to couple with Kentucky ’s signature crapulence : Bourbon dynasty . I ’m rummy to try it drizzle over cornbread , in a marinade for meat and as a glaze for roast wintertime veggie , though in all honestly , we ’ve mainly been drink it straight out of a small dig spyglass as a unequalled and delicious flavor experience to share with protagonist .
I necessitate to find someone with a nice row of walnut trees line their driveway so we can easily collect as much as potential . Now that March has begun , it may be too belated to tap more Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree this year , but I ’ll be quick to try again next year . I ca n’t wait !
What You’ll Need
There are many ways to collect raw sap from a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree . unlike eccentric of taps , aka stilt , can be used , and collection systems can grade from Milk River jugs to professional operations that use plastic tubing to relate a number of tree diagram into a cardinal sugar household .
Rather than ordering a metal spile online , I used a elementary 1/2 - column inch credit card adaptor used for sprinkler systems ( see exposure ) , and it worked great . If you are trying to decrease the monetary value , you could habituate Milk River jugs or else of pail .
The cost to congeal up a organisation on a individual tree diagram cost me about $ 7 to $ 8 . All supplies were available from a local hardware entrepot .
Aliza Sollins
Step 1: Find Your Trees
The idealistic tree is at least 10 inches or more in diameter . One of the nice things about walnut trees is that they are extremely easy to place — even without leaf — because of all of the walnut shells surrounding the fundament of the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree !
Step 2: Put In The Tap
Use the 3/4 - inch drill bit to drill a hole in the luggage compartment of the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree . Your hole should be about 2 in deep . idealistic acme of the water tap is about 2 to 3 feet high . Make certain to drill at a slightly up slant . Use your malleus to rap the wide end of the plastic adaptor into your mess . Your tube will confiscate to the narrow end .
Step 3: Attach Tubing and Bucket
Slide your tube onto the adapter . Use the 3/4 - column inch practice session bit to make a hole in your bucket lid , making certain to pick any plastic shavings out of your aggregation pail . slue the tubing through the hole in the lid . stop up the bucket to the tree using the bungee cord cords .
Step 4: Make Syrup
Ideally your stark naked sap should be collected every day to prevent fermentation in warm weather . Some 24-hour interval I gave myself a compendium break if the outside temperature was 35 degree F or cold-blooded . Once collected , I strained the sore sap into a pot and boiled it down on humiliated heat for several hours until I had the idealistic tang and amount of syrup .
What Doesn’t Work
A wearisome cooker does not work well to boil down the sap because even with the lid break through , there is n’t enough heat to churn the raw sap into syrup . If you have a big walk - in fridge where you may store a bucketful , you might want to collect enough raw saphead over the path of several days and store it in the electric refrigerator , so that you may end up with more syrup at one fourth dimension .
My Experience Tapping Walnut Trees
My first day of walnut sap collection was really awful . Between two trees , I got about 2 gallons , with one tree being much more of a gusher than the other . I ’ve found the output to vary among trees . Unfortunately , after the first day , my yields of cutting sap drop considerably , baffle about 50 or 60 ounces of raw sap sum per day from four trees . One Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree has not farm at all while another produce almost double what the other trees produce . The Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree are all at least 4 base in diameter .
A proportion of 20:1 — meaning 20 ounce of crude sap boiled to 1 Panthera uncia of sirup — was best to make a delightful golden philosophers' stone that tasted like a butterscotch maple drink . When I boiled down the sap to a 40:1 ratio , the taste was extremely fresh and the liquidity was a white , nebulose color full of sugar particles . I preferred the feel of the 20:1 proportion sirup , because it was rich and more complex . Do n’t require a sticky body to the terminal sirup — it ’s sweet but still very liquid .
Aliza Sollins
Aliza Sollins
