I tapped trees in NW Ohio on a remnant of old-growth woods we owned. I took records and established that a few batches were around 18:1 water to syrup, with 30:1 being around average. I’d catch drips from the stile (or rivulets when it was running strong) straight in my mouth. I made coffee with the sap before condensing, and it was too sweet for some people.
I tapped an old maple whose own fallen limbs were used for boiling it down on a wood stove.
Maple syrup has a different taste than the store stuff, and I’m sure it varies tremendously from region to region, as it does tree to tree. I also tapped a silver maple once, it produced great syrup, too.
I’ve read that syrup can be made from Box Elder (less respected member of the maple family) sap also, but it takes more sap because the sugar content isn’t as high. People who’ve had it say it’s just as good though.
I’m from Wisconsin and I’ve never seen Box Elder syrup, but I’ve consumed plenty of maple syrup. We have a maker of it a couple miles from the house that has been making syrup for around 75 years.
“...I made coffee with the sap ...”
Awesome. I’m going to try that next spring.
After a couple years of my son boiling sap, we discovered we really like drinking the half-condensed brew. It’s usually relatively cold out, often still snow on the ground at that time. A fun hot drink. A shot of Irish whiskey in there doesn’t hurt either.