Your website came up in a google search so I read the article. The very reason I was searching is because I had tapped and produced about 60 gallons of sap this year but in Minnesota our first sap run was only a week and the temps fell hard to negatives and my sap froze in place. I brought the buckets of ice inside my house and let them thaw before boiling out the water. They took quite awhile to thaw, about a week. My daughter likes to taste the sap right in a glass of water so like usual, I let her have a glass.
The look on her face was one of confusion as she had brought friends out from the neighbors and had bragged up how good the water tastes. I then tried it and sure enough it tasted of plain water. No Maple flavor AT ALL.
I opened more sap buckets and all had the same result. I was thinking maybe sugar levels were low in some trees etc.
One of the girls said, I wonder if the sweet water is at the bottom. I was about to say, no, that doesn't make sense, when I decided to test her theory. 10 year olds have awesome insight. So I poured half a 5 gallon bucket out slowly and let the girls dip their glasses again. Their faces lit up. Sweet maple sap!
I then took a spoon and stired one of the other buckets we had tried, it was now sweet again.
So, here I am on the net trying to find evidence that we were onto something! Separating the maple sugar from the water by freezing. Alas your post didn't confirm it as my maple sap was totally thawed. I do have a theory that based on your article, the sugar water, if cold enough sinks as it would be heavier and since it freezes last, it must thaw at a different rate as well in a layer! If undisturbed one in theory could pour off the top!
Now to test!!!
