Cold winters usually help maple producers, but when the weather warms up too quickly, it can create problems.
Adam Wild, the director of Cornell University’s Uihlein’s Maple Research Forest, said farmers have to protect their product.
"I like to think about maple sap as like comparing it to milk,” Wild said. “You wouldn't want to leave milk sitting in a bucket hanging on a tree in 60 degree weather all day, and that's going to spoil and be nasty, and the same with sap."
For several years, Wild said he has been working on a sap chiller. Inspired by a technique used by home brewers, the chiller uses glycol, an air conditioning unit, and a picnic cooler to keep the sap from spoiling.
Wild said historically, farmers have used former dairy tanks that can be expensive or difficult to install, but this could be a cost-effective option that can also save producers a lot of time.
"If they don't have time to boil it down that night, they can chill it down and hold onto it, or we don't have to boil all night long. We can wait until the weekend when we have a little bit more time."
Wild said several farms in New York state are already using this technique, and he has also spoken to producers in Vermont, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin about introducing these methods.
New York maple producers will be highlighted March 21-22 and March 28-29 for New York State Maple Weekend.
