Tapping maple sap

Name: Tapping maple sap
Total time: 7 d 15 min
Yield: 1–5 litres a day
Ingredients: a drill with an 8–10 mm wood bit; a clean spout (spile) or piece of food-grade tubing; a clean bottle or jerrycan with a cover; a wooden peg or grafting wax to close the hole

Updated on 9 October 2026

Makes: 1–5 litres a day
Time: 15 min + 1–3 weeks tapping
From: Silver maple

Ingredients

a drill with an 8–10 mm wood bit
a clean spout (spile) or piece of food-grade tubing
a clean bottle or jerrycan with a cover
a wooden peg or grafting wax to close the hole

Method

Wait for a thaw: above 0 °C by day, frost at night.
At about 1 m above the ground, on the sunny side, drill a hole 3 to 4 cm deep, angled slightly upwards.
Tap in the spout and hang a bottle beneath it. Cover it against rain and insects.
Collect the sap every day and chill it straight away.
Stop after 1 to 3 weeks, or as soon as the sap turns cloudy or the buds open. Pull out the spout and close the hole with a wooden peg or grafting wax.

Storing: Fresh sap keeps for 2 to 3 days in the fridge, or for months in the freezer.