Sweet Secrets of Bigleaf Maple

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When you think of our native bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum), you might picture a mossy trunk with delicate licorice ferns. You probably don’t think of maple syrup. Particularly, one with a “bold and buttery flavor that has hints of vanilla and molasses.”

But that's how Patrick Shults, Extension Forester for Southwest Washington—along with many others—describe the taste of this specialty syrup.

“Bigleaf maples have a lot of secret agroforestry benefits that not everybody knows about,” explains Patrick. “They’ve been maligned, especially in production forestry. But they're kind of a sleeper tree.”

Agroforestry Benefits

We’ll get into syrup some more, but first, here are a few of the many gifts that bigleaf maple has to offer:

  • Pollination. The early spring flowers provide critical nectar and pollen for bees, increasing pollination rates and providing beekeepers with an early source of honey that has strong market value.

  • Edible flowers. Those gorgeous clusters (which are just starting to bloom now!) are also delicious for us to eat, especially when they’re young and tender. Check out the fritter recipe at the end of this newsletter!

  • Natural fertilizer. Bigleaf maple bark supports the largest epiphyte (plants that grow on other plants) load of any tree in the PNW. These epiphytes eventually form a layer of soil, which the bigleaf maple then taps into, absorbing water and minerals. When bigleaf maple branches fall to the ground, they rot quickly, providing a rich soil amendment, in addition to the leaves they shed each autumn.

  • Buffers and marginal farmland. Bigleaf maple thrives in damp areas where many traditional annual crops do not. Along waterways they can help stabilize banks, filter pollutants from runoff, and provide ample shade, keeping water cool for fish.

  • Timber. Bigleaf maple wood is commonly used for flooring and furniture, but Patrick has another secret to share.

“You also might get music wood,” he says. Music wood, also known as figured wood, has a uniquely beautiful grain pattern. “It’s mysterious because no one knows how to grow it specifically. But if you get it, the price per board foot is astronomical.”

Bigleaf Maple Syrup

Ok, back to syrup. Up until recently, bigleaf maple syrup has been made by a fairly small number of people as a hobby. Why isn’t it commonly produced commercially in the Pacific Northwest?

“Bigleaf maple has about half the sugar content as sugar maple, which means you need twice as much sap to make the same amount of syrup,” explains Patrick.

“But it has a very unique flavor and catches a really high price point—significantly higher than traditional syrup. So far, Neil’s Big Leaf Maple Syrup in Acme is the only producer in Washington.”

Making Your Own

For those interested in hobby-scale production, Patrick says that 15-30 trees will generally produce enough sap to make a gallon or two—enough for you and your family (and maybe some friends) to enjoy throughout the year.

“A lot of people start by collecting the sap and boiling it down on their stove,” says Patrick.

This method takes a while and can steam up an entire house! To avoid that, Patrick recommends either using a camp stove outside or—even better—building a homemade evaporator out of cinder blocks.

“If you have 86 gallons, you need to burn off 85. An evaporator can burn off five to seven an hour, whereas a stove burns off one to two.”

Both techniques take some time, but it’s a great opportunity for community building with your friends, family, and neighbors. Make a party out of it!

Scaling Up

For those interested in producing syrup at a commercial level, there are ways to make the process easier.

“A reverse osmosis machine will take out 90 percent or more of the water before you even start boiling. Tools like that can make commercial production much more viable. It could be a great way for farmers to utilize marginal land and produce additional income.”

If you’d like to learn more about making syrup, including how to build your own evaporator, email Patrick for a link to a recent webinar. He’ll also be teaching a workshop next September, just in time for you to get supplies for next season.

“Commercial or not, maple syrup has a lot of potential. It’s something that just about everyone can get excited about.”

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