We have red maples, silver maples, sycamore, black walnut and hickory. I'm thinking about giving it a try this winter.
http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Buds_and_Bark/tapping_sugar_maple_index.html
No. But I’m going to guess that if you can get sap for syrup it won’t be sweet
Yes, we have red maples and have tapped them 3-4 times in the last ten years.
The ratio is 60:1 sap:syrup, not 40:1 like a sugar maple.
The taste is not quite as sweet as a sugar maple, but it's still good.
I have been making my own maple syrup for two years now. Go on ebay and look for spiles...... the now obsolete device to tap the trees. There are numerous on line sources of how to info. Real syrup makers use taps connected to plastic hose nowdays.
I use my camping stove running on propane to boil the sap down. I do the boiling an an $8.00 Walmart turkey roasting pan. I collect the sap in 2.5 gallon white food grade icing pails obtained from the local supermarket bakery.
The results are a very good and delicious syrup.
Rule of thumb...... 10 gallons of sap yield 1 quart of syrup. When the sap is flowing, 10 gallons is not much of a problem
You will get sap from all of these trees. The difference is the sugar content of the sap. Sugar maples have the highest sugar content of all the major hardwood trees even among the other maples. The result is you will have to boil down many more gallons of sap to get one gallon of syrup.
For example, Sugar maples average 35-40 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup. A hickory may be more than 100 to 1.
Red Maples and silver maples would be your best course of action. Try freezing the sap or collecting it early in the morning as opposed to late in the afternoon. This is what I do. This results in ice in the container(I use 1 gallon plastic milk jugs). The ice will be 100% water. The remaining sap in the center of the container will have a heavier concentration of sugar. This then requires less boiling to make syrup. Apparentely, this is how the Native Americans would make syrup by repeatedly leaving it ouside to freeze and then drawing off the sap in the middle.
FYI, this is also how you make Apple Jack from hard cider. Leave the gallon cider container outside at night or stick it in your freezer. Drill a hole into the center of the container and drain off the liquid in the middle. The liquid in the middle will have all the alcohol in it that does not freeze.
Also, buy the book:
“Backyard Sugarin”
http://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Sugarin-Complete-How-To-Edition/dp/0881502162
It will teach you everything to know.
You will need some basic supplies also. Taps, funnel, 5 gallon containers. Yoou can get those from Bascoms Maple in Alstead, NH. Bascoms also sells the book.
I have been making syrup for about 10 years. I make 2-4 gallons a year. I give most of it away.