hard maple or soft maple for syrup

Hard maple or sugar maple trees produce a high quality timber and yield maple syrup. stir until the syrup is soft and plastic. If so, go check out a few to see … I’ve heated my farm house and barn 100% with wood for many years. Heat pure maple syrup to a temperature of 27ºF above the boiling point of water (to 239ºF). Hard Maple is prized for its cream to white colored sapwood and light red-brown heartwood. Rather it blends with the rest of the dough & is transformed into cookies when baked. The sap of a silver maple (Acer saccharinum) can be used for syrup, but it isn't the best choice. It takes 40 gallons of Maple sap to make 1 gallon of Maple syrup. Other maple species can be used as a sap source for maple syrup, but some have lower sugar contents and/or produce more cloudy syrup than these two. If you are getting a maple bat then you want something hard that is why maple is so popular because of the density and strength of the wood. If you buy soft maple at a hardwood store you can be buying just about anything. Soft Maple is less dense than Hard Maple with a similar grain and figure. In this case both wood also have the described character (hard vs soft) not always the case. It kills me to burn what would have been some serious flame top wood. The term refers to the quality of a maple tree's wood. Make soft sugar candy by heating maple syrup to a temperature of approximately 32-34oF above the boiling temperature of pure water (212 degrees F at sea level), pouring the syrup into a flat pan or trough and allowing it to cool undisturbed to at least 200oF but not less than 160oF, stirring until the syrup is soft and plastic, and then pouring or packing it into molds. Many people prefer to use soft maple over hard maple for their customized furniture because hard maple doesn’t work well with stains and isn’t as versatile when it comes to creating customized pieces. Hard maple is commonly used in the manufacture of flooring, furniture, cabinets, billiard cues and other finished wood products. "Soft maple" is the common term for four species of maple trees: Silver maple (Acer saccharinum), Red maple (Acer rebrum), Boxelder (Acer negundo) and Bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum). It all comes from the same tree: hard maple, rock maple, sugar maple, brown maple, white maple. Sugar Maple. yeah big fan of soft maple, what you call big leaf is what we call striped or whistle wood. (It’s also the state tree in four different states in the US.) Soft maple is used for furniture, kitchen cabinets, doors, musical instruments, turnings and millwork. Other commonly tapped maples include the Red Maple (or Soft Maple), Black Maple andSilver Maple. pour the syrup into a flat pan or trough and allow it to cool undisturbed to at least 200F but not less than 160°F. So if you buy hard maple you probably know what you paid for. It is transported into the wood and stored during … Many common products like furniture, cabinets, and musical instruments are made using both Hard and Soft Maple. Jim: A few comments about the article discussing soft maple as a “softwood” firewood. Vermont definition hard maple you tap for maple syrup soft maple you don't.. as you won't get top grade syrup softer maples make darker syrup … From page 192 of the North American Maple Syrup Producers Manual produced by Ohio State University. This doesn't present a problem if painting, but clear finish looks terrible. The acer saccharum to be most specific.. That species name, saccharum, is Latin for sugar. It takes 110 gallons of Birch sap to produce 1 gallon of Birch syrup. Soft Maple Sugar Candy. Soft maple varieties are more comparable to birch in hardness and application than hard maple. For maple syrup, you should add about 1.25 ounces for a gallon. Technically, Soft Maple is not [classified as] a softwood, it is a hardwood. Typically, Hard Maple is most often known as Sugar Maple. Sugar Maple is the hard stuff. They even provide shade to comfort you outdoors on a hot summer day. The general designation of hardwood vs softwood is do they shed their leaves in the fall so Maple is a hardwood. How hard is Maple … Its wood is stronger, stiffer, harder, and denser than all of the other species of maple commercially available in lumber form. If I return before I get back, have … Soft maple works even more easily than hard maple. The sapwood in the soft maples is considerably wider than that in the hard maples and has a lighter heartwood color. Soft maple dowels bow more (almost 1/2 inch versus less than 1/4 inch on hard maple of the same 26" lengths) and sometimes break. Hard maple is from the sugar or black maple (acer saccharum / acer nigrum) and soft maple is generally from red or silver maple (acer redrum / acer saccharinum) although there are a few other maples harvested in different areas of the country, like bigleaf maple (acer macrophyllum - another soft maple). Soft Maples on the other hand are comprised of a few varietires of Maple Species such as Big Leaf Maple (Acer Macrophyllum) and Red Maple (Acer Rebrum). A tree typically has to be 40 years old to be big enough to tap for maple syrup. Furthermore, some maples produce a bird’s-eye or curly wood, which is high prized for its beauty. It glues, stains, and finishes well but doesn't take as high a polish as hard maple. Most syrup is made from sugar maple trees. If it's + or - 10% from this, it will not matter. Of the maples, the sugar maple (Acer saccharum) is the one most commonly tapped to make maple syrup. Usually in hardwood stores you can buy hard or soft maple. Made in Canada Enjoy a taste of Canada with Canadian Grade A Amber maple syrup presented beautifully in a glass maple leaf bottle. The primary difference between hard and soft maple is obviously hardness, but also color. Hard Maple works well; stains and finishes nicely. Although it may be hard to part with any of these delicious little treats! Hard and soft hardwood maples are used to produce everything from the syrup on a stack of pancakes to the table the plate is sitting on. This assumes a similar sugar content to corn sugar and liquid malt extract. Maple is diffuse porous with a subtle grain pattern - highlighted by characteristic springwood. The bark on a hard maple is lighter colored, plus it's tight and doesn't flake off easily, whereas on a soft maple it has long scales which easily come off. Other maples can be tapped but the sap doesn't contain as much sugar. That being said, yes it is a fine firewood – sometimes better that hard maple because it dries faster. The soft maple often comes in about 50-75% white sapwood with the remainder being a gray/brown heartwood. Maple is a hard wood (from a leafed tree) and pine is a soft wood (from a conifer). Not only Maple trees, but also some species of Birch trees can be tapped for syrup. We also took the time to make some Granulated Maple Sugar as well as this soft Maple Candy. Because who doesn't love maple syrup… heat maple syrup to a temperature of approximately 32-34oF above the boiling temperature of pure water (212 degrees F at sea level). 90g bag Made in Canada Enjoy the taste of Canada with these adorable maple leaf shaped maple syrup candies. Soft maple is slightly less dense and not as strong. pour or pack it into molds. I get fire wood delivered to my home as a supplimental heat source, it is all hard maple, oak and cherry. I do like the color and figure that I can get locally in soft maple and have used it for legs on benches, but where strength is necessary, I stick with hard maple. If you want hard maple, shop in areas of the country that are known for maple syrup. "Soft maple" isn't a maple species. In this situation hard maple is rock, sugar, maple and soft maple is anything else. Allow to cool slowly, preferably by settling the pan on a wooden surface for even distribution of heat. In maple syrup production from Acer saccharum, the sap is extracted from the trees using a tap placed into a hole drilled through the phloem, just inside the bark. Can you tell the difference in a standing tree with no leaves? Our Maple Sugaring season ended last week. Black birch is the preferred species but white and yellow birches can be tapped, too. Interesting to read correct definitions of maple. Hard Maple is available for sale either rough or surfaced, (S2S). Jim Frye I've gone out to find myself. The wood is heavy, strong and stiff. The shop owner said a lot of folks use the two woods interchangeably. Hard hardwoods have strong and sturdy wood, while the wood of soft hardwoods is more pliable. Each candy is individually wrapped so they are perfect for sharing! Soft maple, used principally for lumber, paper pulp, and other industrial applications, continues to be suitable for cabinet frames, unseen parts of upholstered furniture, and jigs and forms used in woodworking shops. We had a good year making 75 gallons of Pure Vermont Maple Syrup. Read this article to learn the different grades of maple syrup and which is right for you. Soft Maple is an excellent material to choose when purchasing custom furniture for your home or office. The light-colored wood is used for furniture, flooring, cabinets, charcoal and firewood. The hard maple you buy should be 99% white sapwood. Phil, if - as per your later comment - recipe says one can sub maple sugar for the hard maple syrup, then no they won't keep their shape (a la choc chips). The gravity should be about 1.045. And now, we take a moment to give you this brief science lesson: Sugar is produced in the leaves during photosynthesis. You could check by disolving 1.25 ozs in half a pint of water and checking the gravity (corrected to 60 F). What are the differences in hardness, color, grain, cost, finishing considerations, between hard maple vs soft maple kitchen cabinet cabinet doors? Syrup can also be made from birch sap. They are also known as rock maple because the wood is very hard. Birch sap only has 1/4 as much sugar as maple. Sometimes soft maple can be just like hard maple and I did experience that with the wood I purchased that day. Hard maple ought to be considered the king of the Acer genus. Real maple syrup is a wonderfully versatile cooking ingredient that can be used in preparations as diverse as the familiar topping for pancakes and flavoring for candies and cookies to a special flavoring for fondue and a secret ingredient in award-winning barbecue sauce. 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