I’m in western North Carolina on a farm in the Appalachian mountains with roughly the same mix of trees near the homestead. I’ll be making black walnut syrup for the first time this year, and I appreciate your excellent video. Thanks!
you have a gold mine -------i love black walnuts never new you could harvest this syrup this is topping on the cake ----first the nuts are very good the lumber is gold and now this you are blessed thks for showing this video
I never tapped a walnut tree but I have tapped maples. I used vinyl tubing inserted into a hole drilled at an upward angle. The hole was slightly smaller than the tubing to make a snug and leak resistant seal I hung gallon plastic jugs to catch the sap suspending them with cord looped over nails above the jug. I too live in central IL. I plan to give this a try as I have dozens of walnuts on my farm. Thanks for the video.
Loved the videos [ part 1 & 2] can't wait to try tapping my own Black Walnut trees next year. We tapped maple trees this season but this wasn't the beat season with the ice and snow storm and the flooding that followed made it impossible to get to the trees for almost 3 weeks. You have inspired me to try the walnut they are much easier to access.
As a huge fan of the liquid gold that comes from maple trees, I would love to taste black walnut syrup. I had no idea it was even a thing!!! How cool is that?
Black walnut is really good for you also and amazing it's used to make artimisia which is a strong anti parasite, it kills bacteria, is the best anti malarial drug, and has even been shown to cure breast cancer. Greetings from St Louis I probably been to this farm or drove by it good people out there
Lived in the Catskills years ago, my neighbor would tap maples,told me to help myself,boiled sap for 7 hours on kitchen stove to get over 12 Oz. great tasting syrup very light in color.
I have a very big old walnut and some smaller ones too yard is covered with walnuts they are very messy to get the nut this is another great idea thanks
If anybody's looking for black walnuts that are fertile let me know I've been planting them for years and every year I got to dig them up cuz of damn squirrels keep on planting them everywhere
I have a resident squirrel population. I actually think they plant them on purpose in certain locations. They will even plant them in my potted plants in the sun spots. When i bring my plants in for the fall... i always get a butternut in the pot... we call them butternut up here. They have a tap root to hell if they get established.
@@mmercier0921 they probably do it's in their dna black walnut (artimisia) is a wonder drug kills parasites, anti bacterial, anti malarial, and even been shown to cure breast cancer.
I've spent my whole life surrounded by black walnuts and never knew about this. Unfortunately it's the only nut (that I know of) that I'm allergic to so this is probably a no go for me but still good to know.
I knew black walnuts were especially valuable for their wood, but this is the first I heard about tapping them for syrup. Nice to see someone preserving them on their property and not having them harvested for quick money.
Thank u for showing how to tap black walnuts. We have several. I would like to try this. I love black walnut bout does this hurt the tree or walnut production?
No, as long as you use standard tapping rules, such as not having before the tree reaches a decent size, not using too many taps, etc. the tree will be fine.
To my knowledge, all walnuts can be tapped for syrup. I haven’t had it, so I don’t know what the flavor of the syrup would be though. Certainly worth trying!
Awesome! Great info... I'm 54yr old from the country and never new you could tap walnut trees. Does it matter how high or low you put the taps? And, does tapping the same tree every year stun the growth of the tree?
Tapping the tree every year does not hurt the tree, assuming you follow basic Standards. For example you should never tap a tree less than 8 inches diameter, and you really shouldn’t use more than one tap for every 8 inch diameter. As far as height of tap, most people put it just at a comfortable working height. We had to put ours a little higher because we had trouble with our livestock knocking the buckets down to drink this sap!
If it seals over, you would have to tap new holes some distance away from the original. It will seal itself after a few weeks and form a scar in the tree.
Loved the video. I have had walnut syrup before and gave this a try this past winter, on a much smaller scale however. I have maybe 5 trees I can tap. I am in western Kentucky so or temperatures fluctuate and we don’t usually get and stay below freezing. I kept the raw syrup in the refrigerator until I got enough to cook down. Is there a certain amount of time the raw syrup can be kept in the refrigerator before it has to be used? Thank you
Sap spoils fairly quickly. If it sits out in a bucket on a warm day, it will spoil within 12 hours sometimes. Refrigerator definitely allows longer, but I probably wouldn’t leave it there more than a week. You’ll be able to smell the off odor as it starts to spoil. At that point it’s too late and has to be tossed. If you have to store it for more than probably two or three days in your fridge, I would recommend you actually freeze it and then just boil it down later when you’re ready. You can freeze it for months with no concern.
Each tap will leave a small scar, so it really depends on what the purpose for the wood is later. Realize we only use a 3/8 inch drill bit, so the hole/scar is very tiny. Still, Some want a flawless board with perfect grain, in which case, they would not want tap scars. Other woodworkers want lots of “character” in their wood, and scars only add to that. You’d just have to sell it to the appropriate market.
You can use the same taps as maple syrup producers. You can Google syrup supply stores, or even find them on Amazon! There’s nothing very particular about them, just personal preferences.
Do the taps remain in the trees after tree has been sapped and presumably "capped" so sap no longer leaks out? Thanks - also where do you order your taps from?
No, we go around and collect them at the end of season. We just got sets of Amazon since we were such small scale. Larger operations would use syrup supply sites.
No, unfortunately. The tree will seal up the hole after about six or seven weeks, and this outflow will stop. The tree will “heal“ the hole in such a way as to leave a tiny scar that cannot be tapped again.
Once the Sap flow begins to slow significantly or turn color at the end of the season, we pull the taps and allow the tree to heal itself. You never want to tap in the same spot twice.
The taps are just standard and can be purchased from any syrup supply place or even Amazon. We use several versions. Depending on the size, the buckets can be purchased at Lowe’s or online. They come in several sizes, and you just want to make sure they are labeled food grade.
I use 1 gallon juice bottles, the type with the plastic handles on top, they work great, small opening keeps debris out and I empty them every day into empty 4 or 5 gallon water bottles. Pack in snow a few days til I have enough bottles to start boiling.
This is my 2nd year of making walnut syrup. With good temperature this week I set up Saturday but it’s going to be 60 degrees this week. Have you had any issues with spoiling at that temperature? With working I can only collect the sap in the late afternoon. Any thoughts. Thanks
Certainly, the higher the outdoor temp, the more the risk of spoilage increases. However, I would just aim to collect the sap as soon as possibly each day. You can taste/smell if it starts to spoil, so just sample before combining it with your previous days sap. It will take on a fermented flavor/scent. Hope that helps!
What does it taste like. I used to have a 15 acre maple sugarbush and made syrup every year. Boiled on a wood fired evaporator - gives a nice flavor than gas or oil fired.
Tapping will leave small scars, so some harvesters will tell you not to tap the trees. But I’ve also had fine wood workers say that they often pay extra for the scars because it gives the wood character. I guess it depends on your market.
It varies through the tree and the timing in sap season. During peak flow, it could fill the 2 gallon bucket about every 12 hours from the best trees. Therefore, during peak, we would check high flow trees twice a day. All trees get checked at least daily, though, as the sap can spoil quickly if not.
The syrup has been consumed for generations, and our research has not led us to any indication that the sap or syrup contains the toxic compounds found in other parts of the tree.
Absolutely! In fact, if you Google black walnut syrup in an attempt to purchase some, in almost every case, you will find that it is a mix of maple and black walnut. The walnut gives the syrup a slightly richer flavor, but the maple is less expensive, easier to produce commercially, and is easier to offer for sale at an affordable price for consumers. Pure black walnut syrup has been valued between $50 and $100 a quart, which most people consider too high. Just something to keep in mind.
Walnut hulls and to some degree the walnuts themselves have juglone which is the anti-parasite component. This is mildly taxing on your liver and has been shown to cause cancer in clinical studies. So, I'm not sure if the syrup has juglone, but it might be a good idea to go easy on how much of it you consume.
Although our research has found no indication of the juglone in the SAP, the syrup has been consumed for generations. That said, we certainly ration the syrup after all the work we put into it, and only have a meal with that syrup about once or twice a month. Under such conditions, we feel it’s pretty safe!
I really enjoyed your video. My biggest question is why did you tap the trees so high? I've tapped maples in the past, but never so high. But rest assured I will be tapping black walnut trees for the 2023 sugaring season. Thank you for this info, I never realized that black walnut trees had a duel purpose. Ken.
I tapped them high so the goats and the livestock guardian dogs wouldn’t mess with the buckets.😃 It only took two days to figure out why my buckets kept falling off the trees.
It’s all based on night and day temperatures, in order to maximize SAP flow. In a typical year, we place the taps in mid February and the sap will run until around mid March. There was one year we placed him in late January, as we had an unusually warm winter, and collected until the end of February and into early March, until the taps begin to seal over. It’s not nearly as long of a season as maple sap, but we get what we can!
You can use the same taps as maple syrup producers. You can Google syrup supply stores, or even find them on Amazon! There’s nothing very particular about them, just personal preferences.
@@ADifferentWay I never got as much sap from black walnut as I did from maple trees. Do you guys have any white walnut trees? The flow from those trees seem to be about the same as maple trees.
I know it’s certainly possible. In fact, a popular mix in the US is maple and black walnut. If you order black walnut syrup online, you’ll find it’s often a mixture of the two, because black walnut syrup is in such short supply and mixing it with maple makes it more financially economical to the consumer. I would just encourage you to research whatever trees you were considering mixing and go from there.
Where to purchase black walnut syrup I-am curious what the taste is like I’m guessing like black walnuts, and I love ❤️ black walnuts naturally sweet I hope 😎
It is very difficult to find. Your best bet is to find a small producer, or just tap one or two trees to process for yourself. It does not actually taste just like black walnuts. But it does have a very rich, earthy flavor that is absolutely delicious! Like a cross between syrup and molasses, if that makes any sense. I’ve even heard some people describe it as having undertones of butter scotch.
I've read that a maple tree has to be 40 years old before it can be tapped, or larger than 10 inches in diameter. Seeing as I have seven trees that are only six-ish years old, this is something that I'll have to pass on to my grandchildren. I've started a whole food forest with them in mind, I just didn't think that this one thing would literally be something they will do after I am LONG dead and gone.
Thank you for having the vision to lay the foundation for future generations. If more people would do that, we could heal our land instead of destroying it.
I would encourage you to research that thoroughly. Wild cherries do produce toxins in some cases, but I have heard you can make a syrup from their bark, similar to Shagbark Hickory‘s. I don’t know about the sap. Definitely worth researching!
We tapped 4 walnut trees yesterday and they were flowing, but within an hour they all stopped. I’m not sure what we did wrong. We have the hose from the tap to the bucket completely sealed. Does it need a small hole to vent?
Hard to say for sure, but typically, it is NOT completely sealed. It does need to be able to breathe. You may also have seen it flowing while the sap was rising, and then it can definitely slow/stop midday, then flow again in the evening as the sap drops. Hence the reason there is a short window for tapping-when days are higher temps (usually around 50’s) and nights still drop to around or below freezing. I’m not sure where you are located, but in the northern hemisphere, most folks tap around late February to mid-March for best results. After that is pretty iffy.
@@ADifferentWay thank you. I think mine are so tightly sealed that maybe they are air locked? This is my first time trying it. I’ll have to do it earlier next year. Also is it typical for it to be slightly yellow?
It tends to be slightly off color in the very early season, and then it can turn quite dark yellow and dirty looking toward the end of the season. It’s pretty clear mid season however, when the sap is flowing at its peak. It sounds like you caught it at the very end of the season unfortunately. You can still make syrup out of it, but it may have a stronger flavor. You got to start somewhere! Just try again next year. 😁. Sidenote… Be sure to tap a new hole next year and don’t try to use the one from this year!
@@ADifferentWay we ended up getting a lot more than we thought. We had a drop in temp here and woke up to 5 gallons of clear sap. Maybe not a lot but previously we had only collected 1 gallon in several days! So leaving the taps on a little longer to see what happens.
Technically, any tree could be tapped. However, I would imagine pine tree sap would be quite bitter. I am unaware of anyone who uses it for a food product. Pine is generally used for things like turpentine!
Nice! I'm interesting in it but I really don't know what it is and for what? May you please let me know what are you doing? And what is tree syrup is for? Thanks
I had to laugh at this reply! In the United States, pine is also a much-loved scent. The funny thing, though, is that most people here only use the natural resin or pine needles around the holiday season. The rest of the year, they purchase artificially scented “air fresheners.” It’s like they forget pine trees exist year round! 😂
We placed them lower our first year, but it turns out our livestock and even the deer really enjoy drinking the sap! So now we place them higher to keep critters out!
The production varies. We found it’s very dependent on shade versus sun, proximity to a water source such as a creek or pond, and, of course, day versus night temperatures. Our best trees could easily produce 2 gallons a day per tap.
Technically, you can tap any tree, but the flavor is determined by the species. For example, find that is not going to taste very good and might be better used as turpentine! Just do your research before consuming sap/syrup to make sure it is safe.
Unfortunately, we are not allowed to sell it in our state without a tremendous amount of red tape. You can buy it online, but you have to be very cautious as most “black walnut syrup“ is actually mixed with maple syrup to decrease cost. Read the fine print carefully.
We found the southside of the trees gets the most sun exposure for our area, and the sap tended to flow better. Of course, you have to move the tap from year to year so this isn’t always practical, but when possible, it is our first choice.
Black walnut trees, especially young ones, stink horribly if you mess with the leaves or small branches. I didn't think they made good syrup. I have a sugar maple in my yard. The woodpeckers bore holes in it in the spring. I've never tapped it, but I'm wondering how it'll turn out. The old timers used to just notch a tree. The taps look like they're less destructive on the trees. I noticed that you just put one tap per tree. What happens if you do 2 or 3 taps?
There is generally a standard you want to follow that’s roughly one tap for 8 inch diameter of tree. So, yes, you can absolutely do two or three taps in a black walnut tree, assuming it is a much larger, mature tree large enough to tolerate multiple taps. Each tap will produce about the same amount.
The syrup has been consumed for hundreds of years, and our research has not shown any reason to be concerned with juglone in the SAP or resulting syrup.
I know I might not get a reply but I keep reading about how black walnuts have toxins to kill off competing plants. And I also read that it could be harmful to humans but I’m still looking at the sources of conflicting arguments. Are the toxins only plant effect or no effect on humans? Or is the saps boiling process relieve the toxin?
The black walnut does have a chemical to inhibit plant growth but I’ve never heard of it creating an issue for humans. We eat the nuts and use the syrup on a regular basis and have never had any adverse reactions to either.
It has a Toxin that will stun fish and if you pour it on the ground you'll see worms come up, but it is completely safe for humans, in fact the toxin kills worms inside the body and has been used for thousands of years to kill parasite infections in the body so no worries
I've heard the soak/rain water in the bucket from the walnuts gathered in the fall (which can turn a deep dark brown) shouldn't be poured out on your garden or anywhere you grow things.
The chemical that walnut trees release that (slowly) kills of certain competing plants is called Juglone. It is a yellowish oil found primarily in the walnut husks, but it also located in the leaves, buds, and outer branches (idk the concentrations). It causes stains to skin and cloths that turn them yellow/brown. What you want to avoid is touching the husks, especially if cut open. They are mildly irritating to the skin and eyes but not dangerous. Just wash your hands with soap if you touched husks. Some plants are tolerant of Juglone (I don't have a complete list of which ones). Many hardwood trees and certain smaller bushes can tolerate it. One group it heavily affects is fruiting trees, including many common fruits and vegetables. For example, you wouldn't want to plant a black walnut in an apple orchard. Juglone also naturally decomposes in nature, so it isn't a long lived chemical under natural conditions. The Juglone is present primarily under a walnut tree's canopy from falling/decomposing walnuts and decomposing leaves. I believe the sap is primarily different types of sugars, likely no juglone. I have never tried tapping the tree but will try if I get the opportunity.
Realize toxins tend to concentrate in certain parts of plants. The black walnut toxins are primarily in the woody tissues and leaves. It also tends to concentrate in the hull of the nut, but not the nut itself… Which is edible. People have been consuming the black walnut sap for generations with no ill affects, and our research has not indicated any sign of the juglone toxin in the sap itself.
Unfortunately, current regulations do not allow us to sell it. You can sometimes find it online though. Just be careful to read the fine print. Most “Black Walnut syrup“ is, in fact, a high percentage of maple syrup mixed in. This helps keep the cost down.
