In the late winter and early spring, maple trees, particularly sugar maples, are loaded with sap, making March the prime time for collecting the sweet liquid that produces maple syrup.

The sweetness of sap depends on the previous growing season when the leaves of the tree first made sugar through photosynthesis. The sugar was stored during the winter and eventually dissolved in the sap. Then maple syrup producers drill a hole to tap the tree, with each tap yielding 10 to 20 gallons of sap per season. As long as the tree stays healthy, it can keep producing year after year.

Syrup is created by evaporating most of the water from the sap, leaving the sugar behind. It can take as many as 60 gallons of sap to produce one gallon of syrup, depending on the sugar content of the sap. Of course, New England states such as Vermont come to mind first when you think of maple syrup, but there are actually a few producers in Pennsylvania as well.