The 'Sweet' Stuff

It's maple season! This time of year is always welcome in the Spaulding household.  The nights are beginning to warm, the days become sunnier and the smell of sweet Vermont gold fills the air.  It is truly one of our favorite times of the year.  While we don't make our syrup for mass retailers, it does require a lot of work.  The reward is what makes it all worth it in the end.

The sugaring season typically begins between mid to late February, however, this year we didn't begin until much later.  Our first "boil" was on March 14th- nearly a month overdue!  So, what dictates when we begin our season?  Well, my friends, put simply- Mother Nature.  Because the winter gets so cold in Vermont, (and this year, it was COLD) sugar makers have to wait until the trees "open up" and begin releasing their sap. A general rule of thumb says the perfect sugaring weather consists of nights in the 20's and sunny days in the 40's.   It's not until we hit these ideal temps that we can hope for long nights in the sugar shack.

This year has been a bit strange for sugar makers.  It's been so brutally cold that our season started late and even as the temps are rising outside, they still haven't hit that "sweet spot" which keeps the sap flowing around the clock. Either it's been too cold, or not cold enough, but I can vouch for the purple sugarhouse, we just haven't been able to collect as much sap as we typically do.  If you were to gauge based on past years, we should be done by now- or at least much further along.  But it's been slow going.  With only seven "boils" for 2014, we've only made about 1/4 the amount we aim for. Not good, my friends- not good at all.  But, as I write this, Darrin and I are hopeful that the next few days or so will yield enough sap to allow us to get to our "halfway point."




So, what are the steps to making pure Vermont maple syrup?

Step One:  "Tap" trees by drilling and inserting either metal or plastic spouts.  Metal is used for buckets, as seen in the picture above, while the plastic is used when running tubing from tree to tree. Usually this is done when a sugar maker has many trees close together, also known as a "maple grove."











Step Two: Once the sap starts flowing from the trees, it's time to gather.  This can be done using sap buckets or tanks.  For the big league sugar makers, big plastic tanks are used to hold more sap.  These containers are food grade, so as not to attract or harbor bacteria. When gathering the stored sap, most sugar makers use pumps to transfer the liquid into storage tanks in the beds of their trucks.

Step Three: Using the pump again, transfer the sap from the back of your truck tank into the sugar shack's storage tank.  Open up the valve and let flow into the arch!

Step Four: For us, this step would be to add wood to the bottom of the arch.  Some arches are oil burners, which heats the sap much, much faster.  We are too small an operation to use oil, so every year my husband spends many summer days chopping and splitting pine for the following winter.   Pine burns hot, so it's perfect for sugar making. Throughout the boil, Darrin stokes the fire, periodically adding enough to reduce the clear liquid into its more recognizable thick, brown, syrupy goodness.

Step Five: Once we see bubbles, we know we're getting close to syrup. It's just a matter of maintaining a hot enough fire at this point. Darrin uses a hydrometer to test the syrup. Once the thermometer floats, we've got syrup!

Step Six: Filter hot syrup through either a filter press or "socks." (This is the method we use- We're old school.). Socks are cotton and wool filters- kind of like a larger version of coffee filters. All of the grit and other impurities are filtered out of the liquid, leaving clear, brown Vermont gold!






Step Seven: Time to can it up. Heat the stored syrup to 180 degrees before transferring to bottles or plastic jugs. Filling to about 1/4" from the top keeps a layer of mold from forming.

Step Eight: Determine syrup "grade" by comparing it to Vermont's grading model. (See below.). Allow for cooling and VOILA! You've got yourself a tasty treat for your pancakes and waffles!

Disclaimer: The way we make syrup is different from others. There are many variations to making syrup- from oil vs. wood, to all metal buckets vs. plastic tubing, all achieve the same end product. Sugar makers are very proprietary with their methods and final product and if you were to visit a few different sugar houses in a season, you'd notice not all syrup tastes exactly the same. "Fancy" tends to be really light in color and is very sweet. Very little maple flavor. Most people prefer medium to dark amber, because both grades boast more maple flavor. You'll never know what grade you'll make, or at least we never do. Mother Nature dictates that, too. So, now you've seen how our family makes syrup! We hope you love true maple syrup as much as we do!





Until next time, loves...