Photo: James St. John, CC BY 2.0 · source

Sap · From Bladwijzer

Tapping sugar maple sap

Updated on 10 October 2026

• Makes: up to 5 litres a day
• Time: 30 min + 1–4 weeks tapping
• From: Sugar maple

Ingredients

• a drill with an 8–10 mm wood bit
• a spout (spile) of stainless steel or food-grade plastic, or a piece of food-grade tubing
• a clean, food-grade jerrycan or bucket with a lid
• a clean wooden peg to close the hole

Method

1. Wait for a spell of frost at night and thaw by day. Boil the spout and tubing for 5 minutes and rinse the jerrycan with boiling water.
2. At about 1 m above the ground, on the sunny side and in sound wood, drill a hole 3 to 4 cm deep, angled slightly upwards. Blow or brush out the shavings.
3. Gently tap in the spout until it holds; do not hit it too hard, or the bark may split. Lead the sap into the jerrycan and cover it against rain, insects and dirt.
4. Collect the sap every day, strain it through a clean cloth and chill it straight away.
5. Stop as soon as the buds open or the sap turns cloudy, or after four weeks. Pull out the spout and close the hole with the wooden peg.

Storing: Fresh sap keeps for 2 to 3 days in the fridge, or for months in the freezer. Drink it chilled, or use it to make tea or coffee.