The groundhog told us this weekend that Spring is just around the corner, and with that one’s thoughts turn to………SYRUP!
In our area of the country, you’ll start to see buckets hanging from trees and tubing zig-zagging through the woods in hope of collecting that precious nectar from the sugar maples. This process takes a lot of work along with miles (and miles and miles) of tubing, just to extract a small amount of finished maple syrup for our pancakes and waffles. If you are interested in getting involved in this as a hobby, some good resources are located at https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/sites/default/files/downloads/maplesugaring.pdf and https://cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/blogs.cornell.edu/dist/7/5773/files/2016/06/Tubing-Notebook-6th-edition-2fpl9ze.pdf.
Vanguard silicone tubing can be used in many places throughout the collection and processing of maple sap into maple syrup. Silicone provides a high level of resistance to weathering and UV radiation. It also will not leach harmful plasticizers into the sap running through the tubing. Vanguard’s food grade silicone products are consistent with FDA and NSF requirements for food contact applications, and, because they are silicone, will not support mold growth in the bore. Further, they maintain their flexibility in temperatures down to -60F or lower, and can handle temperatures as high as 400F+, so they are ideal for applications in the sugaring process from collection, right on to low pressure transfer during the evaporation process.
More information on our food grade tubing offerings is available at
https://www.vanguardproducts.com/food-grade-silicone/
https://www.vanguardproducts.com/rubber-silicone-tubing
