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The Maple Production Research Facility

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Maple syrup is produced and marketed as a pure and wholesome food product, free from contamination, and produced to the highest available standards. Although the basic process of evaporation to remove excess water has remained the same, the equipment and techniques used to transform maple sap into syrup have changed greatly over the past several decades in response to energy costs and food manufacturing standards, and continues to evolve as newer technology is introduced into the maple industry. 

In order to study how maple processing equipment affects the chemistry, flavor, and quality of maple syrup, we are constructing a new maple syrup research processing facility that will allow us to conduct experiments on up to four evaporators simultaneously. Each evaporator will be fed by a common sap source, therefore any changes we observe will be due to either differences in the evaporator configuration, or in boiling techniques.  The construction of this building has been funded by the UVM Proctor Maple Research Endowment Fund, and by contributions from many individuals, state
and county maple associations, and from maple related companies. Further donations to this project are still needed. Contact Dr. Tim Perkins (802)899-9926 for more information.

In the first two years, our research, funded by the USDA, will focus on evaluating the effects of air injectors, a relatively new type of device in the maple industry. In the future we anticipate examining the effects of pre-heaters, steam-away units, and reverse osmosis on maple syrup chemistry, flavor, and quality.

 

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Last modified December 19 2007 09:55 AM