OtterKnow Kids Encyclopedia

Maple trees give us one of nature’s sweetest treats! In late winter and early spring, a sweet liquid called sap starts flowing through the tree. People drill a small hole into the trunk and collect the sap that drips out. Indigenous peoples in North America were the very first people to discover maple syrup hundreds of years ago.

The sugar maple is the best tree for syrup because its sap has the most sugar in it. The sap flows when it is freezing cold at night and warmer during the day. People put a little spout called a tap in the trunk, and the sap drips out into a bucket or through a tube.