VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – To say that Lewis Legge makes his own is an understatement. He makes just about everything but those stories will have to wait for another time down the road. For now, we will focus on the time and effort it takes him to manufacture a gallon of Box Elder tree syrup.
Legge lives in the country northwest of Valley City. He told us that he begins to extract tree sap about this time of the year, either before or shortly after the North Dakota Winter Show.
Legge collects more than 50 gallons of sap that he patiently processes into one gallon of syrup. His boiler is a modified old fuel oil tank that has three trays on top to heat up the sap for the straining process. He uses wood to generate heat for the boiler that kinda resembles a homemade alcohol still from another state.
Legge said the whole extraction and boiling process is similar to the one Native Americans used for centuries. To learn more about how Lewis Legge makes Box Elder tree syrup listen to the interview attached below.
