Sunday, May 04, 2008

• Maple syrup

  Yesterday morning while I was out with Beth and Christina finding treasures at the local garage sales, Keith helped our neighbors take down the buckets after another spring of tapping trees.

  This spring was the first time I've ever seen the whole maple syrup process - from tree to bottle. Several evenings over the last few weeks, Keith and I would go walk down to the sugar shack and shoot the breeze while the men stirred the boiling sap. Here are a few pics of what we did.

   

  The sugar shack sits a little ways off the road. Hundreds of maple trees surround the shack and each one is loaded with at least one bucket. When the days are warm and the nights are still below freezing the sap begins to run. The wind has to come from the east and the buds can't begin to form on the trees or else there won't be a good flow. 

  

  The sap gets poured into a huge tub in the back of the shack, then after it is filtered it runs into the tubs on the top of the wood burning stove. As the density level in the sap rises the sap pushes its way through the maze until it reaches the last bend. When it reaches the right temperature it is drained into a bucket and poured into another filter.

  

  Now the syrup is ready to be poured into the plastic bottles for sale. Up on a shelf in the back I noticed the old metal tins from years ago....this family has been carrying on the heritage for over a hundred years.

  

  Keith and I have enjoyed sharing this time with the neighbors and after we saw all the work that went into it, we know why pure maple syrup costs $30-$50 a gallon. Believe me, that's cheap!

  However, there is nothing like a good meal of french toast with a little cinnamon and maple syrup! Bring it on.

  

   

  • 2:23 PM
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