Make 1 gallon of maple syrup - PEP BB foraging.straw.maple

Apr 01, 2020 20:16:39

This is a badge bit (BB) that is part of the PEP curriculum. Completing this BB is part of getting the straw badge in Foraging.

If you live in a colder climate, options to grow your own sugar are limited. Luckily it grows on trees! Or, in them... Let's make some syrup!

There are many trees that you can tap for syrup. Sugar maples are the gold standard but most maples will work. Box elders, birch and walnut can also be tapped but their syrup tastes different and boiling techniques may vary. For a maple tree in an average season, it will produce 10 gallons of sap which should make about a quart of syrup (40 to 1 ratio). So all you need is four maple trees to complete this BB!

There are many YouTube videos and it's hard to pick a few that show the steps well. Before drilling holes in your trees, surf the web for a while or talk to some people who do it already.

To complete this BB, the minimum requirements are to make a gallon of finished syrup from a tree (not necessarily maple).

To document your completion of the BB, provide proof of the following as pics or video (less than two minutes):
- Several of your tapped trees
- Some of your sap
- Your boiling rig
- The boiled down syrup in bottles that clearly show more than a gallon

Mike Barkley · Apr 03, 2020 20:07:15

I think I have this one complete. I tapped 50 trees this year and I'm hoping to get 12 gallons of syrup. So far I've made 3 gallons.

Feb 25, 2026 09:51:40

Holy moly! This was a ton of work but I’m so stinking proud of myself for it!!
I tapped 3 maple trees, boiled the sap over an open fire, and once it had reduced enough to come inside I continued to boil it until I got the desired sticky consistency! I managed to get exactly one pint of syrup which I water bath canned for 15 minutes.
I hope to do this again next year and get enough more syrup!