New Oregon State maple syrup guide

By Sara Cameron
Forestry Program Assistant
Oregon State University

Maple syrup, produced from maple tree sap, is one of North America’s oldest sweeteners. All maples — plus a few additional tree species like birch, walnut and beech — produce sugary, dormant season sap that can be reduced to syrup by evaporating off water through boiling. This includes bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum), the most prevalent maple in the Pacific Northwest.

This publication provides the basic steps for making bigleaf maple syrup for personal use. Although the process is similar to traditional sap-harvesting and sugaring methods used in the northeastern North American maple syrup industry, the techniques described in this publication help ensure a successful experience for small producers tapping bigleaf maples in the environmental conditions of the Pacific Northwest. If you are interested in commercial production, see "Additional resources" for information on vacuum tubing, reverse osmosis systems and syrup sales under Oregon’s Farm Direct Marketing Law.

Download the publication here.