Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) in the Sap House:

Q 1. How many taps does Merck have?

A: 2,900 taps

Q 2. What is the Reverse Osmosis (RO) used for?

A: This is used for separating the water from the sugar molecules that are in the sap. Our RO takes 75% of the water away from the sap and it returns right back to the water table. The RO saves time boiling as less water is being boiled off while making syrup.

Q 3. Can you make maple candy out of a dark grade of maple syrup?

A: No, you need to use a light grade of Amber Rich (AR) or Golden Delicate (GD), the latter is preferred.

Q 4. How do you know when to start the sugaring season?

A: This is determined by watching the weather and having a pattern of freezing nights and days that will thaw. You don’t want to start a season too soon or start too late. Looking at our records we typically start tapping around mid-February. The season typically ends around mid to late April.

Q 5. Do you have to add anything to make maple syrup?

A: No. There is nothing added to the sap to make syrup.

Q 6. Does it hurt the trees?

A: Not if you follow NOFA-VT best practices. We follow these organic standards and pay attention to the recommendations from Cornell University to assure we are operating in ways that protect the health of our trees and our forest.

Q 7: What does it mean to be organic?

A: Here’s what it means to us at Merck Forest.

1. We use no lead in our operation, meaning that no lead is used in any of the equipment from the taps to the finish pan.

2. We use organic sunflower oil for de-foaming

3. We tap our trees in accordance with the organic regulations. Each tap must be spaced a foot higher or lower than last year’s tap and 6 inches from left or right from last year’s tap.

4. There are forest management practices that we follow. In short, this means we maintain our diverse population of trees and follow our NOFA forest management handbook for organic standards. If you are interested in organic maple sugaring production and management practices, check out NOFA - Vermont’s Maple Syrup production materials.

Q 8: Why is there a sticker of a bird on your syrup?

A: We collaborated with Vt Audubon Society to help us go through our sugar bush to make changes to our forest management plan to ensure we have an optimal habitat for our forest birds. The sticker represents that we have abided by the proper protocols to obtain this certification.

Q 9: How do you decide what kind of syrup you are going to make?

A: This is determined on a day to day basis by the trees. The trees will produce different grades based on the temperature outside and the microbial growth that takes place in the sap.

Q 10: Sap to Syrup?

A: This depends on the sugar content of the sap. But on average it takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup. These numbers are based on the sugar content of the sap being at 2%. For perspective, when it is the beautiful finished syrup product it has a 66.9% sugar content.

Q 11: How hot does it get in the fire box?

A: It will reach 1000 + degrees Fahrenheit.

Q 12: How much wood do you use in a season?

A: Approximately 10 cords of fire wood is required per season.

Q 13: How long does it take to boil?

A: On average, we could boil 2500 gallons of sap and make 65 gallons of syrup in approximately 3 hours. This process does depend on the sugar content of the sap and so it can vary.

Q 14. You may ask, why is maple syrup so expensive?

A: Well, instead of explaining all the steps to you, next year, I would love to actually have you join me in the process from start to finish to experience the work it takes to make this liquid gold. I promise you’ll never ask this question again.