Warmer weather in Estonia gets maple sap flowing
Due to the warmer weather over the last few days, maple trees in Estonia have been producing plenty of sap. For those who want to drink fresh, sweet maple sap, now is the right time to go and get it.
In the village of Navi, Võru County, the owner of Põrmu Farm has been collecting this natural elixir for decades from trees that are over 100 years old.
"Nowadays, we get about 20 to 30 liters a day, on the best days we even get 40 liters, so that we can keep enough for ourselves and to give to friends and acquaintances," said Kalev Ots, owner of Põrmu Farm.
What kind of weather is needed for the maple trees to yield good sap?
"It should be freezing at night – minus one, or minus two degrees maximum – and during the day four to five degrees. Sunshine is also important," Ots said.
In Põlva County, near Lake Palojärve, however, Urmas Roht, who owns Metsa Farm headed into the forest with his grandchildren on Thursday. To collect the sweet tree sap, they set up a store-bought extracting device.
"We don't have any trees that produce sweeter sap. Maple is the native tree with the sweetest sap. Maple sap has a sugar content of two to three percent, which is a couple of times sweeter than birch, and the higher up you can take the sap from, the sweeter it gets," said Roht
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Editor: Michael Cole
