YOU Tube - Maple Syrup in the Making

This is a very cool video about Bill, Steve and Jo-Anne Yardley and how they make syrup.One of the best videos we've seen about making syrup. But don't take just our word for it.

CH3CH2OCH2CH3net (approx. 2/23/07)
Really, REALLY interesting video — it's really much better, and much more informative than those silly films we used to watch in school about "How maple syrup is made". After you've had real maple syrup, you'll never want fake syrup again.

This is what it's really like. Have fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLiNQisFUzk

Maine Maple Sunday A Family Affair

Web Editor: Caroline Cornish, Reporter
Created: 3/25/2007 5:01:43 PM
Updated: 3/25/2007 7:24:05 PM
WCSH-TV Portland, Maine

Most of Maine's maple syrup producers opened their sugar houses to the public today as part of Maine Maple Sunday. One place taking part is Grandpa Joe's Sugar House in North Baldwin, where three generations make syrup together.

The Mckenney family had been making small amounts of syrup for years and years, but fifth generation syrup-maker Ben Mckenney really got stuck on the process when he tried it for a science project in school. He saved up money for an evaporator and for the past 14 years, he, his father and his grandfather have been running Grandpa Joe's together.Ben Mckenney said, "I think we like to interact with the people because we have the same people year after year. The same customers. It's a good deal for all of us."Grandpa Joe's is named for Ben's great great grandfather.

To play the video go to: http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=55985

Cool Temperatures Delay Maple Syrup Production

WSCH-TV Portland, Maine

Web Editor: Matt Bush, Online Content Producer
Created: 3/25/2007 4:58:43 PM
Updated: 3/25/2007 7:46:16 PM

The cool temperatures overnight put a snag in the line for maple syrup producers in Central Maine. Even though steam billowed out of the Sugar Shack at Lucerne Farms, and people lined the road to see the operation, the lines that actually carry the maple sap froze solid overnight.

Despite frozen lines at the start of the day, there were still plenty of maple syrup samples served to visitors who stopped by the Holden operation in Penobscot County. Many families wanted a first-hand look at how the sweet treat is made, which also included a tour through the sugar bush. "Meet the people who are actually making the maple syrup. It takes a lot to make it, and it's nice that people who go at this as their business are actually sharing it with people who have never experienced it before," said Linda Lord of Tremont.Maine trails only Vermont in the amount of syrup produced each year. Last year, Maine maple producers made 30 thousand gallons of syrup.

Play the video at: http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=55984

N.E. syrup makers’ sticky season is here

Sunday, March 25, 2007

N.E. syrup makers’ sticky season is here

Worcester Telegram (MA)

Maple sugarhouses open to the public
By Lisa Rathke THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Mary Taft cleans the evaporator in preparation for an open house at the Taft Farm sugarhouse. At the Taft farm, it’s all hands on deck when the sap starts flowing. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)


HUNTINGTON, Vt.— At the Taft farm, it’s all hands on deck when the sap starts flowing. Mary milks the cows with one helper so her husband can run the sugarhouse, boiling sap into syrup. Their son Tim, who normally feeds the cows, trucks sap down off the mountain in a 1,000-gallon tank to the sugarhouse, feeding the boiler. This weekend the family and other syrup producers in Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire will open their sugarhouses to the public, offering a glimpse of sap boiling in metal troughs and steam rising through the roof and its sunlit cracks. Visitors will get to sample Taft’s Milk & Maple Farm syrup, maple fudge, doughnuts topped with homemade maple cream, and maple cotton candy, streaming from a machine.

It’s good for business, said Mary Taft, after she cleans the outside of the metal evaporator. “People come and look and see and say, ‘Oh, this smells good, I have to buy some.’ To actually see it being made, it’s perfect.”

Read the rest at: http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070325/NEWS/703250469/1008/NEWS02

Spring's Sweet Start

Sunday, March 25, 2007
Spring's sweet start
By VICTORIA GUAY

Staff Writer

The Citizen of Lanconia (NH)

vguay@citizen.com

As the snow begins to melt and the ground to thaw, maple trees dormant during the winter being the process of growing leafy crowns — a process that begins when clear, sweet sap begins to the circulate throughout the tree once more.

The maple sap, after it has been boiled down to a thick, amber-colored syrup, also serves another purpose — to make treats like pancakes and ice cream more yummy.

Saturday, hundreds of people across the state opportunity to see how maple syrup is made, as producers held open houses to promote one of New Hampshire's sweetest products.

The event, sponsored by the New Hampshire Maple Producers Association, continues today with area sugar houses holding open houses at various times throughout the day.

For information on participating producers and times, visit the New Hampshire Maple Producers Association website at www.nhmapleproducers.com.

Read the rest of this at: http://www.citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070325/CITIZEN_01/103250199/-1/CITIZEN

University of Maine, Page Farm, and Maple Syrup

UMaine Page Farm and Home Museum Offers Maple Syrup Season Activities
March 15, 2007Contact: Patty Henner, 581-4115; George Manlove, 581-3756

ORONO – The University of Maine’s Page Farm and Home Museum is hosting two public events, March 23 and March 25, to acknowledge the sweetest sign of spring – maple syrup season.

On March 23, Kathryn Hopkins, a UMaine Cooperative Extension horticulturalist and expert on maple trees and syrup production, will deliver a talk at noon titled "Backyard Sugaring." She’ll review the sap-to-syrup process, and will share tips and advice for amateur syrup makers. Hopkins has worked in the Cooperative Extension’s Somerset County office for 14 years and regularly consults with maple tree growers and syrup producers in Maine. The lecture is free and participants are invited to bring along a bag lunch.

On March 25, from 1-3 p.m., the farm and home museum will entertain children and adults with its annual Maine Maple Sunday program. Activities begin with a short video, "The Maple Sugaring Story," at 1 p.m., followed at 1:30 p.m. by learning activities, game-playing and stories about one of Maine’s oldest industries – the gathering of sap from sugar and black maple trees, and the production of maple syrup. Children will be grouped by age, from kindergarten through grade 6, for activities, says Patricia Henner, museum director.

The afternoon also includes a trip to the University of Maine’s nearby maple sugaring operation in the University Forest on College Avenue Extension. Participants will get a guided walking tour of the sugar bush – tree stands where the maple sugaring story begins – and then will tour the demonstration sugarhouse, where sap is simmered into syrup. One gallon of syrup requires the distillation of 40 gallons of sap. Children can sample fresh maple syrup, straight from the evaporator, poured over ice cream.

"It is a maple syrup sundae on Maine Maple Sunday," Henner says.

The event is a popular, interactive celebration for children to learn about the history of Maine maple syrup, meet other youngsters, and get some fresh air in the process, Henner says.
Northern New England’s Indians taught colonists about making maple syrup and maple candy, and Maine remains one of the world’s largest maple syrup producers.

Because of space limitations at the Page Farm and Home Museum on the Orono campus, pre-registration is advised, and all children must be chaperoned. Henner expects the Maine Maple Sunday event to fill up quickly.

"I’ve already had people calling to make reservations and I haven’t even put out an announcement yet," she says.

A $4 per child reimbursement fee for materials used in the exercises is requested. For registration and other information, please call the Page Farm and Home Museum at 581-4100.

IN HADLEY, MASS, MAPLE SYRUP WORTH WAITING FOR

Around Town: The wait for maple syrup is well worth it

By Mary Carey Staff Writer
Published on March 16, 2007
Amherst Bulletin

MARY CAREY
Shangzhu Wang, of China, tries some maple syrup this past weekend at the Hadley Sugar Shack.
March was roaring like a lion last week, trying to make up for a sheepish winter, all the better backdrop for an excursion to the Smith and Mount Holyoke colleges spring bulb shows and breakfast at a maple sugar house.

The tulips, hyacinths, daffodils and other spring blossoming bulbs were delightful and their fragrance intoxicating. The shows, open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through March 18 at the Lyman Conservatory at Smith and Talcott Greenhouse at Mount Holyoke, are annual crowd pleasers - as are the sugar houses.

It was an hour-long wait to get seated for breakfast at the North Hadley Sugar Shack on Route 47 Saturday, but no one seemed to be complaining. What was a modest sugar shack when brothers Joe and John Boisvert first started serving breakfast in 1996 now has an extensive array of maple sugar and locally produced products to engage diners' attention while they're waiting for a table. There is also a continuous sap boiling demonstration in the back room and a petting zoo outside. Although March is reputed to go out like a lamb, most of the lambs were kicking their heels inside their wooden shelters on Saturday, while a lone chicken amused the visitors by stalking the yard.

As Michael Stern, co-author with his wife, Jane, of "Road Food" and "Eat your way Across America," writes of the Boisverts' operation at Roadfood.com, "The North Hadley Sugar Shack at Boisvert Farm has many things to recommend it. It is a picture-perfect farmstand in the Pioneer Valley where you can buy locally grown fruits and vegetables at the peak of their season from summer strawberries to winter squash."

Stern recommends the maple cotton candy for their "great clouds of edible sweetness."
Joe Boisvert was minding the sap boiling Saturday, but it wasn't mist from sap rising into the air. He was boiling water to show how the process works, because the sap hadn't been running in the last few days.

It's been too cold. The sap is a very dilute solution of sugar water that comes up from storage in the maple tree's roots. To run, it needs cold nights and warm days above freezing. Other fast facts about maple syrup: It takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup, and trees with one to three taps in them usually produce enough sap to make a quart of syrup per tap.
The back room isn't only popular for the boiling demonstration: There is also a pitcher of fresh maple syrup that visitors can pour into small paper tasting cups. Shangzhu Wang, a University of Massachusetts graduate student in computer science from China, and Mandy Cheung, a graduate student of education from Hong Kong, were sipping syrup on Saturday.

They had been waiting for a seat for about 45 minutes but were having a good time.

"We didn't expect it would be this crowded," Wang said.

Maple syrup is not unheard of in China and Hong Kong, they said, although honey is much more common where Wang comes from, she said. Both women give the maple syrup high marks.

"That's why we come here," Cheung said.

SUGARMAKING TIME IS EDUCATIONAL AND FUN FOR KIDS

Students gain hands-on experience in making syrup

Posted: Saturday, Mar 17, 2007 - 12:45:10 am CDT
By Ashley Rhodebeck

Beloit Daily News (WI)

Daily News staff writer

Education has gotten a little sweeter for area children this month.For the past two weeks, School District of Beloit elementary students have visited Big Hill Park to learn about maple syrup production and tree growth.“It's so important for them to see how things happen,” said Mary Ellen Fuentes, an English as a Second Language teacher at Wright Elementary. “It helps them get such an appreciation for why people did what they did.”

Books inform children about the topics, but they don't grasp the bigger picture, such as the whys and the hows, until they interact with the curriculum, Fuentes explained as students tried to re-enact the Native American's way of extracting maple sugar from sap Friday morning.

Sap is composed of 98 percent water and 2 percent sugar, so boiling the substance is most effective for extracting the sugar. Because Native Americans didn't have the tools to warm the substance directly on a fire, they poured the sap into a hollow log that became heated by hot rocks, said Tanya Zastrow, the Welty Environmental Center director.

Getting the rocks into the log was quite a trick, as the children soon learned. To avoid burning themselves, Native Americans would use sticks and deer antlers to transport the stones.“You read about this in books, but the experience and frustration of doing this activity creates this awareness,” Fuentes said, watching the youngsters struggle with the task.

Besides doing indoor activities, which also included making maple syrup, the students went into the woods to learn about maple trees and how sap is extracted from the plant.

“I'm going to pull a trick on you, so to get past the trick you're going to really have to use your eyes,” volunteer Julius Pellegrini told the group as they approached a maple tree to learn how people tap the sap.

“How come we didn't attach a bag here?” he asked the group, pointing out the tree's holes.

“Because it's dead,” a student quickly, and correctly, responded.

Even if the tree had been alive, the children probably wouldn't have seen it excrete sap during the chilly morning.For a tree to produce sap, the temperatures must have been below freezing at night and above freezing during the day because the contrast helps the sap travel upwards from the roots, Zastrow explained.

Each tree produces a different amount of sap each year, ranging from as few as five gallons to as many as 15 gallons, Zastrow said. The season begins depending on the temperatures and ends once the buds become swollen, she added.

Children got a chance to taste sap and maple syrup during their field trips, and the public can also dabble in the natural sweetness from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today during the third annual Maple Sugar Festival at Big Hill Park.

People can tour the maple trees and see how trees are tapped and sap is collected. Visitors can also see the evaporator and learn how maple sap is boiled and made into syrup.

Tours and activities are free, but a pancake brunch costs $5 for adults and $3 for children.

TRADITIONAL MAPLE SYRUP RECEPIES

Try these traditional recipes with maple syrup
Karen Miltner Staff writer, Rochester Globe & Democrat (March 13, 2007)

What to do with maple syrup besides pour it over pancakes? We're sticking with tradition and running two old-time favorites, courtesy of Ken Haedrich's Maple Syrup Cookbook (Storey Books, $10.95).

Sugar on Snow

For seasonal authenticity, sugar on snow can’t be beat for the post-harvest party, and should be served with plain doughnuts and sour pickles. When the hot syrup is poured onto cold snow, it cools quickly into a chewy, taffy-like candy, which you then pick up and eat. You will need a candy thermometer for this recipe.

1 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

About 1 quart packed, clean snow or well-crushed ice

Heat syrup and butter in small saucepan over medium heat, watching carefully; turn heat down if mixture looks like it will boil over. When the candy thermometer reaches 234 degrees, cool slightly and test by spooning a tablespoon of mixture over the snow. If the syrup sits on top of the snow and clings to a fork like taffy, it’s ready. Portion snow or ice in 4 to 6 serving bowls. Pour remaining syrup mixture in ribbons over snow or ice and serve. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

French Canadian Maple Sugar Pie

This Quebecois treat is similar to its Southern cousin, the pecan pie, with a slightly tart twist. The author suggests serving it with vanilla ice cream.

One 9-inch unbaked pie shell

3 eggs

¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar

¾ cup pure maple syrup

6 tablespoons butter, melted

¼ cup brewed tea

2 tablespoons plus ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Pinch of salt

¾ cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.Whisk together eggs and sugar in a large bowl. Add maple syrup, butter, tea, vinegar and salt, whisking until smooth. Stir in the walnuts. Place the pie shell on a heavy baking sheet and pour in the filling. Bake on the center rack of the oven for 10 minutes. Then reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking until the center is set, about 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. Pie is good cold, too. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

PICKENS, WEST VIRGINIA, MAPLE SYRUP FESTIVAL

In late winter, here in our mountains surrounding Pickens, when nights are freezing and days begin to warm, it's maple sugaring time!

The snow begins to melt, the ice to thaw, and the sap rises in the maple sugar trees. We tap the trees, drilling 2 1/2 inches deep and hammer a spout into the tap hole where either a bucket or plastic pipeline that connects each tree is hung. The sap drips into the buckets or flows through the line to storage tanks.

Next, we collect and transport the sap to a sugar house where it is boiled down in large evaporating pans making the thick, golden syrup. It takes about 45 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup. The hot syrup is then filtered and packed into storage jugs.
West Virginia has a long history of sugar making. The Indians made syrup first. They threw hot rocks into hollowed-out logs that were filled with sap. The early settler quickly learned to make the sweet stuff and use it as their main source of sugar. Today, maple syrup and sugar are widely used in cooking, baking, and as topping.

Join us for a full weekend of activities celebrating this tradition each year on the third full weekend in March! The 2007 festival takes place March 17-18.

For more information go to: http://www.smilingcountry.com/pickenswv/maplefest.htm

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR

It's amazing. It's that time of year when winter slowly melts into spring, and sugarmakers all over North America are collecting pails and buckets, and boiling sap until it turns gold and dark brown.

In Canada they were singing. And from Minnesota, to Indiana, from Maine to Pennsylvania, and down to West Virginia, states all over the country are sponsoring sugar maple events to commemorate the 2007 winter season.

This is a great event to take children to. Visiting a sugar house or sugar shack is an event in every child's life which is fun and memorable. It's something that the whole family can visit and enjoy.

From walks in the winter woods to pancake breakfasts and roadside stands, Maple Fever stikes this time every year - ain't it grand!

Check your local newspaper and webiste "current events" listings, and find out where you and your family can spend they day having good clean fun...and find some sweet memories.

SWEET SEASON - SYRUP MAKERS PREPAPRE TO TAP N.E. TRADITION

By Bonnie Obremski, North Adams Transcript
Article Launched: 03/09/2007 01:55:23 PM EST

(Robert Leab of Ioka Valley Farm sets up maple syrup taps on Wednesday. Photo: Gillian Jones/North Adams Transcript)

Friday, March 9WILLIAMSTOWN — While sugar shacks, both high-tech and ramshackle, should be steaming across New England during Saturday's predicted warm spell at least three local sap harvesters said this week that American tastes favor the fake stuff.

"They don't even have any real maple syrup in them," Norman Burdick of Steepmeadow Farm on Route 43 said Wednesday about brands such as Aunt Jemima or Mrs. Butterworth's, which are primarily corn syrup.


No scientific polls have yet revealed America's syrup preference but that of the Burdick family is plain — they've been in the sugaring business for at least four generations.

The community will have an opportunity to taste test real local syrups, among other activities, at "Maplefest" on Saturday from 11 to 2 p.m. at Hopkins Memorial Forest's Rosenburg Center on Northwest Hill Road and from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation at Sheep Hill off Route 7.

Robert Leab of Ioka Valley Farms on Route 43 in Hancock has installed a display in his sugar shack, which is open to the public, to show visitors "real maple flavor" does not grow on trees.
"Most people just don't know," he said.

Jones, manager of the Hopkins Memorial Forest sugar bush, said children grow up without knowing the difference between imitation and genuine maple syrup.


"And when they do try real maple syrup they say, 'Hmm, this tastes kind of funny," he said.
Price, he said, is also a deterrent in buying a true syrup. A 16.9-ounce of Grade "A" medium amber syrup can cost $12 while a similar amount of imitation costs $4.


Burdick said one reason more Americans may be resorting to the artificially flavored syrups is because most only use the maple-flavored products on top of pancakes. He said his wife replaces refined sugar with maple syrup when baking and cooking.


Jones said that during Colonial times, settlers learned to distill sap from sugar maple trees into syrup from American Indians because cane-derived sugar that came from warmer climates was nearly impossible to obtain.


To read the rest go to: http://www.thetranscript.com/headlines/ci_5399167

CANADIAN MAPLE SYRUP PRODUCERS BREATHE A SIGH OF RELIEF

Tony Lofaro, Ottawa Citizen
Published: Saturday, March 10, 2007

Weather conditions have been almost perfect this winter to produce a bountiful supply of maple syrup, say Ottawa valley maple syrup producers.

Warm temperatures around Christmas and early January had caused some concern that maple syrup production might be affected, but thanks to a deep freeze in February and a warm spell coming in the next few days everything is on track, said Mark Wheeler of Wheelers Pancake House and Sugar Camp, located in McDonalds Corners.

"It was touch and go there in January and if it had stayed warm for another two or three more days it would have been a bad situation," he said.

"But it's hard to say what would have happened because it's never happened before," said Mr. Wheeler, about the unusually warm spell that hit the region earlier this year.
"It was a great sigh of relief to see the cold weather come and stay."

He said many of the old-time maple syrup producers insist that without a cold spell lasting several weeks, the flavour of the syrup can be affected.

(Scott Fulton Cheacks His Buckets: Photo Pat McGrath, the Ottawa Citizen )

"The winter that we have had, you'd probably want to call it a perfect winter," he said.
As it stands now, everything is set for the sap to start flowing in the next few days and production should last until mid-April, he said. The sap will begin flowing when the temperatures rise above freezing, which is forecast for the next few days, he said.

Wheeler's, located about a hour from Ottawa in Lanark County -- the Maple Syrup Capital of Ontario -- has more than 180 kilometres of pipeline to transport maple sap to the sugar camp, where it is boiled into pure maple syrup. The farm produces about 10,000 litres of maple syrup in a year, making it one of the biggest producers in the province.

The family-run business is gearing up for a busy March Break, with horse-drawn sleigh rides, maple taffy-on-snow, pancake meals, snowshoeing, and self-guided tours. It is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

Shirley Fulton-Duego, co-owner of Fulton's Pancake House and Sugar Bush near Pakenham, said she's ready for a busy maple syrup season.

"The (weather) conditions seem right for the sap," said Ms. Fulton-Duego, adding she's been open for several weeks.

She said the trees had a cold dormant period and now they're ready to be tapped.

"We will probably start to tap on Sunday, and that means we will drill the holes. It doesn't mean we'll be making syrup. It takes a few days to get all the holes drilled, and then we'll start."

She said maple syrup is very "weather dependent" and the start time varies from year to year.

She said the third week of March is usually when the sap starts flowing and this year is not much different.

Fulton's Pancake House is a popular destination for school groups and families. It is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily

She said she's expecting another bumper season. "If you have a good season, the industry standard is one litre of syrup per hole, if you get the right temperatures. We have 4,000 taps, so we should get 4,000 litres of maple syrup," said Ms. Fulton-Deugo.

MAPLE DIET SYRUP? DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME KIDS!

Is the Beyonce Diet a dream diet?
Feb 9, 2007 04:00 PM EST
Posted by Michelle Ponto

News Channel 3 - Memphis, TN

SPECIAL REPORT -- It's hard to avoid her. Beyonce' is everywhere and she has quite a figure. Combine that with news that she dropped a lot of weight fast for her starring role in Dream Girls, and you've got a lot of people wondering what her secret is.

She's known for her dangerous curves but recently Beyonce Knowles made news when she slimmed down for her role in the blockbuster film "Dreamgirls." The star shed 20 pounds in 10 days on the "Maple Syrup Diet".

For some people, this kind of drastic weight loss sound like a dream come true, but personal trainer Jack Douglas says that kind of loss isn't the norm for regular women.

"What I've found is that people who come to workout with me have to have a more realistic expectation of working out for a longer time," says Douglas.

But what exactly is Beyonce's Maple Syrup Diet? It's a liquid fast. It's also known as the Lemonade Diet or the Lemon Cleansing Diet.

Here's the recipe:
3 quarts of water
1 cup of lemon juice
1 cup pure maple syrup or molasses
1 teaspoon cayenne
and you drink 8-12 glasses a day.

Knowles admits the diet isn't the best way to lose weight. She also admits that as soon as her movie wrapped, she gained the weight back.

Fad diets harmful to health and wallet
By CARLA HALEY

Texarkana Gazette

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

If I were to tell you that fad diets have been around for centuries, would you believe me? The first fad diet recorded in 1820, made popular by Lord Byron, was the Vinegar and Water Diet. This was followed in 1825 by the Low Carbohydrate Diet, which first appeared in The Physiology of Taste by Jean Brillat-Savarin. Even in 2006, we experienced the Maple Syrup Diet fad, which featured a special syrup-lemon drink.

From this time on, numerous fad diets have come and gone with little long term success.

Read more at: http://www.texarkanagazette.com/articles/2007/03/07/local_news/features/features01.txt

MAPLE WEEKEND WEBSITES AND INFO

Welcome to Maple Weekend

March 17-18 & 24-25, 2007

10am-4pm each day

2007 Maple Weekend Scheduled for March 17-18 and March 24-25Bring your family and visit several operations to see the variety of equipment and methods used to make maple syrup and sample a variety of maple products. Many producers provide wagon rides to the woods, tapping demonstrations, and historical displays. Some producers offer pancake meals and many local civic organizations hold pancake breakfasts.

New York maple syrup 2006 production increased 14 percent from last year’s below-average crop. Syrup production is estimated at 253,000 gallons, up from the 222,000 gallons produced in 2005 according to Stephen Ropel, Director of USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, New York Field Office. Only two states, Vermont and Maine, produced more syrup. The number of taps, 1.53 million, increased 8 percent from last year. Syrup produced per tap averaged 0.165 gallons, up from 0.156 gallons in 2005. The final value of the 2005 crop is $7.04 million, two percent below the previous year’s value of production. However, the overall price was $31.70, up 12 percent from the previous year’s price.

From the Tree to Your Table
As winter grudgingly gives way to spring, New York State maple syrup producers begin the work of making maple syrup. The temperature climbs to the 40’s in the day and eases back below freezing at night. Warm days and cool nights cause the sap to run through the trees. This is known as the “sugaring off” season.

A sugar maple tree is usually 30 years old or more and at least ten inches in diameter before it is tapped. Depending on its size, a tree can have up to four taps, each of which yields an average of ten gallons of sap per season.

A large number of New York’s maple producers have put away their metal spiles and buckets. They save time and collect more sap by connecting their maple trees, collectively known as a sugarbush, with a network of plastic tubing. The sap flows to collecting vats or, in some larger operations, is pumped directly to the sugar house. This is where the sap is transformed into syrup.

When the sap first arrives in the sugarhouse it is mostly water and bears little resemblance to the beautiful amber liquid we eventually use on our pancakes. The sap to syrup conversion happens when most of the water s boiled away. During “sugaring off” season, sap is evaporated continuously until the supply of sap is converted to pure maple syrup. It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon syrup.

This evaporation process, like the collection of sap from the trees, has been completely modernized. New York State maple producers use sophisticated equipment to control the evaporation process and make the most efficient use of the fuel used for this process.

Open Sugar Houses
Many sugar houses are open to the public during maple season and at other times of the year. Look for these signs like these along highways or on sugar houses. New York’s maple producers are very proud of what they do and are always willing to share their interest and knowledge.

Visit the American Maple Museum in Croghan, New York. Exhibits depict the history of maple syrup and sugar making techniques ranging from those used by the Native Americans to plastic tubing and stainless steel evaporators in use today. Audio tapes explain many of the exhibits. The Museum was founded in 1977 to preserve the history and evolution of the North American maple syrup industry. Admission charged. Call ahead for Museum hours (315) 346-1107.

FOR MORE INFORMATION GO TO: http://www.nysmaple.com/

New York State Maple Producers
The New York State Maple Producers Association is comprised of almost 400 of the finest syrup makers in the United States. Our purpose is to increase the production of New York State maple syrup and enhance its sale across the nation.

Maple Weekend began more than a decade ago when Wyoming County maple producers opened their doors to the public to showcase the production of maple products from tree to table. The first event, known then as Maple Sunday, demonstrated how maple syrup was made by tapping trees, collecting sap and boiling it into syrup. Producers also provided samples and sold maple products to the public.

Now Maple Weekend occurs statewide and the event has grown so much that the maple producers had to add an extra weekend. This year, Maple Weekend will be March 17-18 & 24-25 from 10am – 4pm each day.

The word is spreading about award-winning New York Sate maple syrup, recently named best-tasting in the United States. And while Vermont syrup packers probably won’t admit it, New York State Maple Producers often sell bulk syrup to Vermont.

New York State – Fourth Leading Producer of Maple Syrup Worldwide.

In 2006, New York State’s approximately 1,500 maple syrup producers made more than 253,000 gallons of syrup according to the New York Agricultural Statistics Service. That was an increase of 14% from 2005. But even with the boost in production only two other states, Vermont and Maine, produced more syrup. Canada is the largest maple syrup producing country in the world.

New York’s 1.53 million taps produce enough sap to account for almost 18% of the maple syrup made in the United States. That averages 0.221 gallons of syrup for every tap in the state.

The final value of the 2005 crop, which was down because of poor weather, is estimated at $7.037 million. The crop value for 2006 will be released in June of 2007.

The economic impact of maple production in New York State was an estimated $28.2 million in 2005. According the New England Agricultural Statistics Service, in the year 2005 it took an average of 43 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup.

PANCAKE BREAKFASTS IN NEW YORK STATE MARCH 17-18 & 24-25

Official Maple Weekend Pancake Breakfasts

March 17th
Arcade Center Farm Pancake House 7298 Route 98, Arcade
Beaver Meadow Audubon Center 1610 Welch Road, North Java
Burnham's Pure Maple14453 County Route 63, Adams Center
Cartwright’s Maple Tree Inn County Road 15A, Angelica
Dry Brook Sugar House 432 Chambers Road, Salem
Falconer Rotary ClubFalcon’s Nest, East Main Street, Falconer, NY 8-11 am
Gowanda Fire HallEast Main Street, Gowanda 7-11 am
Maple Hill Farm & Howe Cavern's Restaurant107 C Crapser Road, Cobleskill
Mapleland Farms 647 Bunker Hill Road, Salem
Moore’s Maple Shack & Pancake House 10397 Galen Hill Road, Freedom
Rathbun’s Maple Sugarhouse & Restaurant 1208 Hatch Hill Road, Granville
Remsburger Maple756 Traver Road, Pleasant Valley
Rushville Firemans FeastWharehouse Street, Rushville
Shaver-Hill Maple Farm450 Shaver Road, Harpersfield
Sprague’s Maple Farm 1048 Route 305, Portville
Stonehouse Farm305 Lynk Road, Sharon Springs
Valley Road Maple Farm 190 Valley Road, Thurman
Vernon Verona High School 5275 State Route 31 in Verona 8am-2pm

March 18th
Alexander Gas & Steam ShowGillate Road, Alexander
Arcade Center Farm Pancake House 7298 Route 98, Arcade
Attica Fire DepartmentWater Street, near Main St., Attica 7:30 am-1:30 pm
Beaver Meadow Audubon Center 1610 Welch Road, North Java
Burnham's Pure Maple14453 County Route 63, Adams Center
Cartwright’s Maple Tree Inn County Road 15A, Angelica
Dry Brook Sugar House 432 Chambers Road, Salem
First Presbyterian Church of East Aurora9 Paine Street, East Aurora
Gustafson’s Maple Country USA 2507 Quaint Road, Falconer 10am-4pm
Kiwanis Club Annual Pancake BreakfastFiremen’s Recreation Hall, 2 Rod Road, Marilla 8am-1pm
Maple Hill Farm & Howe Cavern's Restaurant107 C Crapser Road, Cobleskill
Mapleland Farms 647 Bunker Hill Road, Salem
Moore’s Maple Shack & Pancake House 10397 Galen Hill Road, Freedom
Masonic-Eastern Star HallMain Street, Forestville 8am-12:30pm
Perry/Warsaw Airport6522 Perry-Warsaw Road
Rathbun’s Maple Sugarhouse & Restaurant 1208 Hatch Hill Road, Granville
Remsburger Maple756 Traver Road, Pleasant Valley
Rushville Firemans FeastWharehouse Street, Rushville
Sardinia Fire HallRoute 39, Sardinia
Shaver-Hill Maple Farm450 Shaver Road, Harpersfield
Shelby Fire HallRoute 63, Shelby Center 7am - 2pm
South Dayton Boy ScoutsSouth Dayton Fire Hall 8am-1:30pm
Sprague’s Maple Farm 1048 Route 305, Portville
Stonehouse Farm305 Lynk Road, Sharon Springs
Valley Road Maple Farm 190 Valley Road, Thurman
Vernon Verona High School 5275 State Route 31 in Verona 8am-2pm


March 24th
American Maple Museum9735 State Route 312 in Croghan
Arcade Center Farm Pancake House 7298 Route 98, Arcade
Burnham's Pure Maple14453 County Route 63, Adams Center
Cartwright’s Maple Tree Inn County Road 15A, Angelica
Dry Brook Sugar House 432 Chambers Road, Salem
Mapleland Farms 647 Bunker Hill Road, Salem
Moore’s Maple Shack & Pancake House 10397 Galen Hill Road, Freedom
Rathbun’s Maple Sugarhouse & Restaurant 1208 Hatch Hill Road, Granville
Remsburger Maple Farm & Apiary756 Traver Road, Pleasant Valley
Shaver-Hill Maple Farm450 Shaver Road, Harpersfield
Sprague’s Maple Farm 1048 Route 305, Portville
Valley Road Maple Farm 190 Valley Road, Thurman
Vernon Verona High School 5275 State Route 31 in Verona 8am-2pm

March 25th
American Maple Museum9735 State Route 312 in Croghan
Arcade Center Farm Pancake House 7298 Route 98, Arcade
Burnham's Pure Maple14453 County Route 63, Adams Center
Cartwright’s Maple Tree Inn County Road 15A, Angelica
Dry Brook Sugar House 432 Chambers Road, Salem
Hermon Fire Department Church Street in Hermon 4-6pm
Mapleland Farms 647 Bunker Hill Road, Salem
Moore’s Maple Shack & Pancake House 10397 Galen Hill Road, Freedom
Rathbun’s Maple Sugarhouse & Restaurant 1208 Hatch Hill Road, Granville
Remsburger Maple Farm & Apiary756 Traver Road, Pleasant Valley
Shaver-Hill Maple Farm450 Shaver Road, Harpersfield
Sprague’s Maple Farm 1048 Route 305, Portville
Valley Road Maple Farm 190 Valley Road, Thurman
Vernon Verona High School 5275 State Route 31 in Verona 8am-2pm

Maple Sugar Tours March 17-18 in Hudson Valley

Maple Sugar Tours
11:30 AM - 3:00 PM
Get a taste of ol'fashioned maple sugaring at Kenridge Farm, Route 9W, Cornwall. Tours start every half hour and are a 45-minute walk through the forest, stopping at points of interest to learn aspects of making maple sugar. Wear boots and dress warmly. All ages welcome. Cost: $7. Museum Members: $5 For information call (845) 534-5506, ext 204.This event will also be held on March 17th - 18th
(845)534-5506, ext 204.
Museum of the Hudson Highlands