Walnut Syrup

I got a call from Monster Dave the other day asking if I wanted to try making walnut syrup.  I didn't know that was possible but, we did have a handful of walnut trees.  So, we gave it a shot.  He came over and started setting up taps.

Collecting the Sap

He got a little help from little hands.  He knocked a little bark off of the tree to make a flat spot for the sap to sit.  Then, he drilled a 1/4" hole 1-1/2" deep at a slightly upward angle.  The sap started flowing immediately.

The tap was attached to a hose draining into a 5 gallon bucket.  Some systems hang the bucket right off the tap.  But this system allowed the buckets to be checked less often and collect more sap without having to dump them.

Boiling the Sap

The sap was then boiled down in a large pot outside.  We weren't sure if the boiling sap would create a sticky mess on the walls and ceiling if we did it inside.  Dave's beer brewing accessories worked out perfect.

Once the sap was cooked down enough, it was transferred to a smaller sauce pan.  This allowed for better control of the temperature and helped to prevent burning the syrup.  No ingredients were added.  It is just sap with the water cooked off.

Walnut Syrup

It turns out we got started a little late even though we did have a few snows after tapping the trees.  Next year we will start in mid-January.  In total, we collected around 10 gallons of sap.  This made about 2 pints of syrup.

The syrup was delicious.  It had a smokey and nutty flavor.  I think it tastes better than maple syrup.  But, I may be biased because we made it.  However, we don't have nearly enough to replace the store bought syrup yet.  It's probably only enough for a few pancakes.  It turns out that walnut sap has around the same sugar content as maple sap.  However, walnut trees put out a fraction of the amount of sap that maple trees do.  So, it is much more rare and you would need many more trees to produce the equivalent to maple trees.

This was a fun activity and I look forward to doing it again next year.  We will probably put out more taps and start collecting much earlier.  Maybe we will be able to get enough to share next year.  If you have maple trees or walnut trees, you might consider giving this a shot.  It's easy, educational, and fun.