30 Nebraskaland • January-February 2023
he tree sap begins to fl ow. It
looks — and almost tastes —
like water. But, after being boiled
for an hour, it reduces into what
Dan Hejl calls "liquid gold" — syrup he
collects himself.
It's a tradition Hejl looks forward
to every year. The Pleasant Dale,
Nebraska, man collects sap from the
same woods he hunts in, and gifts
landowners with a jar of the highly
prized black walnut syrup.
Black walnut syrup is similar to
the maple kind, but with a rich nutty,
butterscotch taste. Hejl's favorite way
to enjoy the syrup is spooned over
vanilla ice cream.
"Most people don't think of black
walnut trees when they think of syrup,
but in my opinion, they make the most
delicious and uniquely fl avored syrup
you can imagine," Hejl said.
Black walnut syrup is also produced
commercially, but it's expensive. And
in Hejl's opinion, it's far more fun and
rewarding to make it yourself. "The
results are unsurpassed by anything
you can buy in the store," he said.
Collecting the Sap
You can collect sap from a variety of
trees, the process of which is generally
the same, but you'll need a few things
to get started:
•
10-40 spiles, 5/16" size
•
A cordless drill and bit
•
Clean 5-gallon buckets with lids
•
A fi ne-screen strainer
•
Clean plastic milk jugs, with 5/8"
hole drilled near the top
•
A large stainless steel stock pot
•
A candy thermometer
•
An outdoor turkey fryer
•
Cheesecloth
•
Clean canning jars
Conditions are right for tapping in
late winter and early spring, when
daytime temperatures are in the high
30s to 50s, and nighttime temperatures
drop below freezing. This fl uctuation
in temperature causes sap to fl ow.
Though tapping trees at Nebraska
state park areas isn't permitted, Hejl
thinks landowners would be open to
allowing it on their property. "Find
a private landowner and just ask
permission," he said.
Trees should be a minimum of 10-12
inches in diameter to accommodate
a single tap; trees over 25 inches in
diameter can handle two or three taps
at a time.
Using a 5/16" drill bit, drill a hole
into the tree at a slight upward angle,
about 3 feet up from the ground. The
hole should be 2 to 2½ inches deep
for standard-size spiles. Hejl wraps
masking tape 2¼ inches from the tip
of his drill bit for easy reference. He
recommends drilling on the south side
of the tree where sap will fl ow better
Tapping for
Liquid Gold
Story and photos by Renae Blum
Dan Hejl checks a spile to confi rm sap
is fl owing.
T
