When the weather starts to warm up in the spring in New England and Canada, and the nights remain cold, its time to collect sap from the Sugar Maple trees. Once collected, it is boiled down into "liquid gold".
Maple Syrup has a unique taste and having lived in both Michigan and New Hampshire, I am a big maple syrup fan. That fake stuff will just NEVER do.
If you don't live in the northeastern states or Canada, you may not know how maple syrup is made. Check out all the info here on the sweet liquor of the Maple tree, plus recipes and even spa treatments.
Maple Syrup has a unique taste and having lived in both Michigan and New Hampshire, I am a big maple syrup fan. That fake stuff will just NEVER do.
If you don't live in the northeastern states or Canada, you may not know how maple syrup is made. Check out all the info here on the sweet liquor of the Maple tree, plus recipes and even spa treatments.
Lens of the Day! Yeah!!
I am proud to have this selected as lens of the day for April 16, 2007 and am glad everyone is enjoying all the information on Maple Syrup. Boiling it Down
- Maple syrup can only be made in northeastern North America at a certain time of the year when we have warmer days, but still have those cold, cold nights. This makes the sap run.
- Canada, as a whole, makes more maple syrup than anywhere else in the world.
- Vermont produces the largest amount of maple syrup in the US, but New York, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Michigan make their fair share, as well.
- It takes A LOT of sap to make the syrup: 40 gallons of sap for one gallon of syrup.
Read About Making Syrup
I made a small batch years ago in Michigan when I lived on a farm. We took our horses out in the woods with buckets tied across their backs and brought the syrup up to the house to boil it down in a large metal tub on a wood fire we had made outside. We lost a few precious buckets of sap when one of the horses decided to break into a run.
Wow, did it ever take a long time to boil that sap down! I appreciate the Sugar Bushes (maple syrup farms) all the more. I'll let someone else make syrup for me any day. But, what an interesting process it is.
Wow, did it ever take a long time to boil that sap down! I appreciate the Sugar Bushes (maple syrup farms) all the more. I'll let someone else make syrup for me any day. But, what an interesting process it is.
Backyard Sugarin': A Complete How-To Guide, Third Edition
Make your own. I did!
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Maple Sugaring in New Hampshire (NH) (Images of America)
The author gathered maple syrup on her grandfather's farm when she was young and has been producing maple syrup with her husband since 1970
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Amazon Price: $19.99 (as of 12/25/2009)
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Native American Sugaring
- NativeTech: Sugar Bush
- This is a site about Native American technology & art. Organized by topic (one of which is maple syrup), this educational web site emphasizes the Eastern Woodlands region of the US and includes an Ojibwe/Metis account of maple sugaring. Through this link you can read an article detailing the search for a maple grove where syrup will be gathered and processed.
Some Syrup Makers
You could visit in person, or you can order syrup and other maple products on-line at these sites.
- Maine Gold
- Maine Gold, based in Rockport, Maine, offers beautifully packaged gifts of maple syrup in designer bottles or tins, as well as candies and gift baskets.
- Folsom Sugar House, Chester, New Hampshire
- Folsom's Sugar House has been a traditional maple sugaring operation for over 15 years. This picturesque sugar house, lovingly put together by Brian Folsom, is nestled in the small, quaint southern New Hampshire town of Chester and is just around the corner from me.
- DeLoughary's Sugar Bush, Michigan
- Deloughary's Sugar Bush near Escanaba in the beautiful Upper Peninsula of Michigan produces maple cream, maple sugar, maple candy and pure maple syrup. You can purchase online.
- Maple Vodka!!
- Here is a company that makes vodka from pure Sugar Maple sap. Vermont Spirits Vodkas are distilled and bottled at Duncan's Spirit's, Inc., a micro-distillery in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. Check it out.
More Maple Sugaring Facts
Here is the historic church in Chester, New Hampshire where maple syrup is made at the Folsom's sugar shack not far down the road.Total US production of Maple Syrup in 2006 was 1,440,000 gallons.
The sweet sap develops in the trees during the cold, dormant winter months. During the winter of 2006/2007 it had been unseasonably warm and the sap was expected to have a much lower sugar content.
The price of Maple Syrup is going up because the amount of syrup produced was down in 2007 and again in 2008. Syrup held in reserve was used after the low production of 2007 and when the results for 2008 showed up low as well, there were no reserves to turn to. Expect to pay more for your syrup over the next few years.
The first full moon of the Spring is called the Maple Moon because this is when the sap will start to run in the trees. Soon the tapping begins.
The color of a maple tree's leaves in the fall will tell you the amount of sugar potential for that tree: the brighter the leaf, the more sugar.
A Sugar Maple tree will live for 300 to 400 years, continually producing sap for syrup the whole time.
The oldest maple sugar farm in the US, the Bolduc farm, is in Gilford, New Hampshire and now serves as a museum.
Maple Based Spa Treatments
Here are a few suggestions for maple spa treatments. If you search the web, you may find some in your area.
- The Boston Harbor Hotel
- Here's an audio link to a short radio interview with someone who had a Maple Essence Exfoliation at the Spa at Rowe's Wharf at the Boston Harbor Hotel. If you are in the Boston area this would be a nice treat for yourself. You will need Quick Time to listen.
- Mirror Lake Inn in Lake Placid, New York
- Here is a Maple treatment at the Mirror Lake Inn in Lake Placid, New York. It is their "signature" spa treatment.
- The Spa at The Mountain View Grand Resort, New Hampshire
- In a beautiful, recently remodeled, 1865 New Hampshire mountain resort you can have a relaxing maple treatment at their spa. They use maple from local trees.
A Family Adventure Making Syrup in Ontario, Canada
- Making Maple Syrup in Parry Sound, Ontario
- Here are delightful photos and an account of one family's adventures in making syrup on a small farm in rural Ontario. Included are photos of tapped trees, syrup boiling down, the filtering process and kids, kids, kids.
Cooking With Maple Syrup
Maple is a great alternative to sugar as a sweetener. It gives things a deeper, carmel-like flavor.
The Maple Syrup Book
This book covers making and using maple syrup and includes a collection of recipes.
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Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 12/25/2009)
List Price: $24.95
Maple Syrup Cookbook: 100 Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Yummy.
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Amazon Price: $7.88 (as of 12/25/2009)
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Maple Syrup: 40 Recipes for Fine Dining at Home (Flavours Cookbook Series)
Yummy. Yummy.
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Very Maple Syrup
Yummy. Yummy. Yummy.
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Amazon Price: $5.95 (as of 12/25/2009)
List Price: $5.95
Free Recipes Using Maple Syrup
- Mapleland Farms in Salem, NY
- Lots of free Maple syrup recipes such as Maple Cheesecake, Maple Milkshakes and even Maple Tofu Cream.
- Yankee Grocery
- Recipes using maple syrup and helpful tips for using pure maple sugar. How about trying, for instance, Maple Gingerbread or Chicken with Orange-Maple Glaze.
- Maine Maple Producers Association -- Recipes
- Maple recipes as well as instructions for that old classic: pure maple taffy made in the snow.
Free Pancake Recipes
- Ginger Pancakes With Blueberry-Maple Syrup
- Hearty Ginger Pancakes with oatmeal and a blueberry/maple sauce is just one of the pancake recipes from the kitchens of King Arthur Flour Mill in New Hampshire. Find it on the list in this link.
- Recipes From Bed & Breakfast Inns OnLine
- Over 120 pancake recipes from Bed & Breakfasts and Country Inns. They ought to know what goes over well with their guests. This is a big list with great variety.
- Blue Cornmeal Pancakes from Santa Fe
- If you can find blue corn meal in your area, these are delicious and very unique.
Tapping the Trees and Boiling Down
I Love Maple Syrup by ButterflySha
Maple Syrup Festival by Aunt Owwee
Sugar Shack by dwrichards
curated content from Flickr
Places to Eat
- Parker's Maple Barn, New Hampshire
- Parker's Maple House is a resturant and gift shop located in Mason, New Hampshire. The popular restaurant serves up pancakes with maple syrup, of course, and other tasty breakfasts. Located out in a wooded area, its a fun place to go if you live nearby.
- Wheelers Sugar Camp and Pancake House, McDonalds Corners, Ontario
- A Beautiful Log Maple Sugar Camp and Pancake House nestled in the heart of a 730 acre Sugar Bush. Located in McDonalds Corners, Ontario, Canada. Close to Ottawa, Kingston, and Perth in Lanark County.
- Leek Farms Pancake House, Alliston, Ontario
- Open seasonally during sap season and located on the farm where their Maple Syrup is made.
- Polly's Pancake Parlor, Sugar Hill, New Hampshire
- In ROADFOOD, the coast-to-coast guide to over 400 of America's Regional Restaurants published by Random House, Jane and Michael Stern say, "We don't know a better place to eat pancakes than Polly's. The Parlor is in an 1830-vintage building on Hildex Farm. From your table you look over the New Hampshire countryside through the clear mountain air. The pancakes served here are made from light cornmeal, whole wheat, or buckwheat batter, filled with chopped nuts, blueberries, or coconut. And the star of the show is maple, brought to your table as maple sugar, maple syrup and maple spread."
You can also make purchases from their website.
Books on Maple Syrup for Kids of All Ages
Sugaring
For children in pre-school through kindergarten, this book tells a story of gathering maple sap on grandfather's farm.
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Amazon Price: $13.49 (as of 12/25/2009)
List Price: $17.99
At Grandpa's Sugar Bush
For ages 4-8. Helping out Grandpa at maple sugaring time.
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Amazon Price: $6.95 (as of 12/25/2009)
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Sugaring Time
For ages 9-12. A non-fiction chapter book all about the process of making maple syrup.
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Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/25/2009)
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Maple Syrup Book, The
For ages 9-12. Learn all about making maple syrup. This non-fiction book includes puzzles, games, science projects and recipes.
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Maple Trees
Where it all Comes From
Maple Tree by Asela
Red Maple Wings by audreyjm529
Yellow Canopy by Clearly Ambiguous
Sugar Maple by DJ1
Assemblage by kiki's dad
curated content from Flickr
Maple Syrup Collectibles on eBay
Find a good deal on vintage maple syrup collectibles on e-Bay.
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by
Gotta Go. I'm Hungry Now!
I just HAVE to go eat some pancakes right now and I'm not kidding. Putting this all together is making me wicked hungry for maple syrup.We like to add canned pumpkin to "Vermont"s Best" brand multi-grain pancake mix. Its quick using a mix and the pumpkin gives it a little flavor, color, nutrition and makes the pancakes more moist. My husband adds walnuts to his and I add pumpkin seeds to mine.
What do you have to say?
Do you have a maple syrup tip or any other comments? Make them here.
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- Treasures-By-Brenda Treasures-By-Brenda Feb 26, 2009 @ 2:42 pm
- Well done lens on maple syrup! I am lensrolling it to my lens on Polly's Pancake Parlor (and glad to see it mentioned here) and to my lens on The Best-Ever Buttermilk Pancake Recipe, which really is, the best-ever buttermilk pancake recipe!
Brenda
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- Evelyn_Saenz Evelyn_Saenz Jan 29, 2008 @ 9:53 am
- I grew up in Vermont making maple syrup with my grandpa. Your lens brings back fond memories. I have lensrolled it to my www.squidoo.com/griddlecakes lens, added you to my favorites and joined your fanclub.
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- Evelyn_Saenz Evelyn_Saenz Jan 29, 2008 @ 9:49 am
- Love the maple syrup and your lens. Though many people go to Vermont for the foliage in the fall or for skiing in the winter. I love sugaring season in March and April. The taste of fresh maple sap right out of the tree is heavenly. Check out my lens on griddles to go with it.
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- nightcats nightcats Jan 11, 2008 @ 10:59 am
- Excellent lens and congrats on LOTD! I have given you a lensroll on my waffle recipe lens.
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- GrillGirl GrillGirl Aug 12, 2007 @ 10:08 am
- I love maple syrup too. Hard to get here in NC. I usually buy through Ebay. Yum!
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by njg
Though I am still a Northwesterner at heart (I lived in Oregon for 20 years), I now make my home in beautiful, historic, semi-rural New England. Not f... (more)
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