Maple syrup farmers gearing up for sugaring season; did you know that other trees can produce syrup?

Photo by Sam Yu, Frederick (Md.) News-Post

Though spring is still a ways off, some farmers are already gearing up for harvest. Maple sugar harvest, that is. This time of year, sap begins flowing in trees, but only when temperatures are above freezing during the day and below freezing at night, Jason Doris reports for WBNG in Johnson City, New York.

Maples are the most popular source of sugar (and the resulting syrup), but other trees like black walnut, butternut, sycamore, and hickory can also produce niche market syrups, reports The Frederick News-Post in Maryland. 

Researchers at Cornell University and Virginia Tech are studying such non-traditional syrup sources to see if commercial syrup producers can use alternative species cost-effectively. That could provide an off-season source of income for farmers.