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[babbling brook]
-People have so many questions when you tell them
that you make Bigleaf Maple Syrup.
It's really neat to explain to them
how simple the process really can can be
and how you can punch a hole in a couple trees
and make yourself some glorious syrup.
-The United States produces
5 million gallons of maple syrup a year,
with almost all of it coming from the Northeast.
But today, a budding movement is forming to make syrup
using an underappreciated resource we have in abundance
here in the Northwest --
the native bigleaf maple tree.
-It was regarded as kind of a weed.
Foresters tried to eradicate it
so that they could get more Douglas fir and hemlock
and more valuable species,
but it's stubborn and it persists.
-When it comes to syrup production,
not all maples are created equal.
There's a reason why the East Coast sugar maple
has become the industry's workhorse.
-The big difference is that sugar maples
have about a 2% to 2.5% sugar content in the sap,
and bigleaf maple is about half of that.
So, we have to process twice as much sap to get syrup.
-Weather patterns also play a role.
Sap flows from maple trees in the warming period
after a hard freeze,
and in the northwest,
those freezes are more unpredictable
than they are out east.
But Kent Wheiler thinks these issues can be overcome,
and he's been leading a study
through the University of Washington
to gather data on sap flows.
-We're hoping that with additional income
that can come from maple production,
that land owners will have an economic incentive
to keep those forests as forests
and not convert to other uses.
-Case in point -- Andrew Sharman's family
recently purchased a piece of forested property
in Kitsap County,
and he's exploring the idea of tapping his trees.
-So, you can kind of see here where it's opening up.
There's tons of, you know, bigleaf maples, so...
-Jeff Rupert has offered to take a look at the property
to assess its syrup-making potential.
-Walking through his property -- it's perfect.
Gentler slope would be nicer,
but, you know, beggars can't be choosers
in western Washington.
It's gullies.
Oh, this is where it gets fun, then.
-Yeah. It gets a little steeper. -[ Chuckles ]
-I think we could almost start with
just tapping one side of the hill
and see how it goes, and maybe, if it's going well,
we could plan a way to connect to the other side as well.
-For sure. -Yeah.
-After the sap is collected,
processing it into syrup is the next piece of the puzzle.
Andrew could either buy his own equipment
or he could take it to Jeff,
who's built a sugar shack on his property,
complete with reverse osmosis system and an evaporator.
Both are machines used to remove water content from the sap,
leaving just the concentrated sugar and flavor.
-I bought this equipment with the idea of participating
in a co-op or having local landowners
come to me to be able to help them out.
So, what we have is the two divided pans.
There's basically baffles in between sections,
and so this will be your raw sap over here.
And as it heats up,
it actually moves closer to the finishing pan.
-Today, hobbyists like Jeff are the majority
of bigleaf maple syrup producers in the state.
There's just one company making and selling bigleaf maple syrup
on a commercial scale --
Neil's Bigleaf in Whatcom County,
with a couple of others working to get licensed.
The hobbyists of today,
with the potential to become the industry of tomorrow.
-We'd like to see it develop somewhat like the wine industry,
so that each valley and each county
has their own special blends and flavors.
We've already seen that some syrups from Quilcene,
for example,
taste different from ones from Sultan,
and we think that's kind of exciting and unique.
-Bigleaf maple syrup is a bit richer.
A lot of people will taste hints of, like, a toffee or a caramel.
-Chefs and bartenders really like it
because it's good for mixing drinks and putting on salmon.
-I really enjoy it over, like, yogurt or ice cream.
I normally tell people that it's not a pancake syrup,
but then again, I have friends and family
that will float their pancakes in it.
-Many think bigleaf maple syrup
could represent a new Northwest staple,
one that could help us celebrate and preserve
what makes our region unique.
Imagine small-scale producers
selling bottles at Pike Place Market,
and farm-to-table restaurants
incorporating their favorite varieties into seasonal menus.
-I could see it being a tourist attraction, really.
People flock to sugar shacks on the East Coast
to be able to see the operation
and see the billowing steam and smell,
and I could totally see that happening in key locations
in western Washington,
and it's not too far off.
My crystal ball says three to five years. Yeah.
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