From Vermont Maple Trees to Syrup
At Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks in Montpelier, Vermont, maple syrup starts as clear sap inside trees. Turning that sap into syrup takes good timing, careful heating, and plenty of patience. Follow the steps below to trace the present-day process from the woods to the bottle.
1. Wait for maple season.
Sugarmakers watch the weather in late winter and early spring. Sap often flows best when nights are below freezing and days warm above freezing. These changes in temperature help move sap through the tree. Because the weather changes from year to year, the season does not begin on exactly the same date each time.
2. Tap suitable maple trees.
A sugarmaker drills a small hole in a healthy maple tree and places a spout, or tap, in the hole. Sugar maples are especially useful because their sap contains sugar. The tap gives the sap a way to flow out, but it does not drain all the liquid from the tree.
Tapping requires care. Sugarmakers choose trees large enough to tap and avoid making more holes than a tree can safely support. After the season, they remove the taps. The trees gradually close off the tapped areas as they grow.
3. Collect the sap.
- suitable:
- right for a particular purpose
- gradually:
- slowly, over time
- network:
- a group of connected parts
- promptly:
- without delay; soon
- concentrate:
- to make a substance stronger by reducing the amount of liquid in it
- concentration:
- the amount of a substance in a mixture
- particles:
- very small pieces of matter
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Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1Why do sugarmakers watch for freezing nights followed by warmer days?
- 2How does the passage show that tapping can be done with care for trees?
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About this how-to / procedural passage for Upper Elementary
“From Vermont Maple Trees to Syrup” is a how-to / procedural reading passage about Maple syrup production, written for Upper Elementary. It takes about 3 minutes to read (489 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.