As spring begins to approach, nature is changing with the season. As a way to celebrate this change and connect to the early Minnesotan natives and settlers, the Linneas Arboretum is offering an event about making your own maple syrup, by means of maple tapping. Maple tapping is the process of drilling holes in maple trees to collect the sap. The sap is the raw ingredient in maple syrup.
Although syrup can be made from all types of maple trees, sugar maples are known for being the sweetest and therefore are used most commonly for making maple syrup. Sap flows throughout the maple trees all year, but with the high and low temperatures oscillating around freezing during the day and night this time of the season, March and early April, sap begins to flow quickly. Typically, tapping is done in early March, two weeks before this change in the weather.
Join the Interpretive Center for a pancake brunch, complete with syrup, bacon, eggs, fruit, orange juice, and coffee. Students and faculty are encouraged to watch a demonstration to learn how to tap a maple tree. The brunch is on Saturday, March 2 at 10 a.m. Students and faculty should register by Wednesday Feb. 27, 2013 if interested.