Maple tree sap is the glorious product that only happens when the weather can’t make up its mind. When the nights are still frigid and the days are finally reaching 40 degrees, that shimmery sap begins to flow.

For those who love the ancient art of sapping, it's during that unpredictable time when tree tapping begins. The trees that can be tapped are the ones that are healthy enough and mature enough to recover from the wound of a tap. A rule of thumb is if a tree is at least ten inches in diameter it can have one tap, eighteen can have two, and over twenty-one inches can have three.

Meet the Millers

In my quest for local maple syrup, I looked to Facebook Marketplace and came upon the Miller Family Farm & Market in Fruitport. Gabrielle and Dale Miller operate a farm of cows, pigs, horses, and chickens. A few years ago, a friend prompted them to tap a few of their trees and now they’re up to 86 taps, with hopes of doubling next year. Similar stories abound on Facebook groups of backyard maple syrup makers, as well as coaching and encouragement for those getting started.

The Millers are fortunate enough to have mature silver and sugar trees growing right in their front yard. These massive, beautiful maples can produce about 2 gallons of sap a day, and about 80 gallons throughout the four- to six-week syrup season. Typically, it takes 40 gallons of sugar maple sap to produce one gallon of syrup. Since the Millers are tapping both silver and sugar maples, it takes them about 53 gallons of sap to get one gallon of syrup.

The trees in their yard get tapped as well as trees in the woods behind their farm. Gabrielle explained how making the syrup involves the whole family. Dale starts or rekindles the fire at about 3 a.m. when he gets up to start his farm chores. A few hours later their son takes their four-wheeler and gathers buckets of syrup from the woods, which he does every day throughout the season before and after school. And their daughter? Her job comes later with the labeling and—the most important job of all—the taste testing.

Gabrielle’s favorite part of the syrup process is sitting in the sugar shack watching the sap boil down, all while seeing how hot they can get the fire to speed the boiling. While the sap boils they have friends over. As Gabrielle said, “I don't know what's so fascinating about it, but we have lots of people come over that like to watch it. Our kids really enjoy it because we put the table out here and we'll play Skip-Bo.”

The buckets of sap are continually poured into the evaporator until they have about two gallons of what will be syrup. Dale and Gabrielle like to do just two gallons at a time, so they don't get ahead of themselves. 

Once it’s boiled down, the almost-syrup is moved to a propane heater for the finishing process. That’s not the only way to finish, but it’s the Miller way. Using a hydrometer they measure the brix (sugar density), watching it climb to the ideal percent.

Go Time

And then suddenly, it’s “Go Time”—as their kids like to call it. Once they reach their goal of 60 brix, there’s only so much time to filter and get the syrup into bottles before it starts cooling. No matter if they’re in the middle of their kids’ bedtime routine or other chores, when Go Time comes, all focus is on the syrup.

The start-to-finish process for a finished two gallons of maple syrup takes the Miller family about twelve hours. Those hours aren’t only spent on syrup. All the while, there are chores to be done, day jobs to go to, and school to attend.

Syrup season is weather dependent and can be short. Gabrielle said there might be a few hot days during that time, but then the overnight freezing will kick the trees back into gear. However, the minute the trees bud, that’s it. Your season is done. On those days, the sap will sour. Once it spoils, you just have to dump it.

Seems like a whole lot of time and effort to get pure maple syrup. Is it worth it? I asked what it’s like when they get their first taste of the season. Dale said, “It’s like heaven in a cup.” And how do syrup farmers most enjoy their bounty? Gabrielle loves it in her coffee with fresh-from-their-farm raw heavy cream… or over vanilla ice cream… or in her mother-in-law’s amazing breakfast casserole. 

No comparison

How does store-bought “pancake syrup” compare to pure maple syrup? See for yourself. Besides having an unbeatable taste, maple syrup is full of vitamins and minerals:

Additionally, according to the Maine Maple Producers Association, maple syrup boasts 24 natural antioxidants, fights inflammatory diseases, may protect against cancer, helps skin health, improves digestion, and may enhance antiobiotic effects.

And what does Mrs. Butterworth bring to the table? Here’s a look at her label:

Mrs. Butterworth is not even a contender, nor are any of her “pancake syrup” competitors—looking at you, Aunt Jemima and Hungry Jack.

Miller side note

In reading one of the Little House in the Big Woods books, Dale and Gabrielle's daughter was fascinated to learn that the syrup-making process hasn’t changed much in the last hundred years. But unlike Laura Ingalls, she hasn't gotten to try sugar snow (hot maple syrup poured over snow). Maybe someday this fickle Michigan weather will leave enough snow on the ground during the syrup season for her to partake in the sugar snow experience.

The moment of truth

I left the Miller’s that day with a jar of their “liquid gold” sitting on the seat beside me. I could hardly wait to get home to griddle up some pancakes. When the moment came to drench my fork and taste the syrup for myself, it was just as Dale had described...