The general rule of thumb is that it takes about 40 gallons (150 liters) of sap from sugar maples of the Vermont variety to make one gallon (3.8 liters) of syrup, Hegarty said. For red maples, you need at least 60 gallons (more than 225 liters) of sap because more water needs to be removed in the process of making syrup.
Holy crap, I knew syrup farming was inefficient but dam getting less than 4 litres out of 150 litres is insane.
edit followup thought: i suppose it is better to have the forrest than another industrial complex.
Yeah, some big operations use an osmosis rig to remove some of the water before boiling to save fuel, but most of the time you just spend a few days tending the fire and sap (don’t want it to burn).
Yeah sugar bushing is one of the few forms of agriculture that exists in North America that relies on largely intact ecosystems rather than heavily modified or diminished ones. But it is certainly not the most efficient way to produce food, and that’s why maple syrup is so pricey.
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