“Maple sugaring will not be hurried. It is more than the work of one night or one week; its rhythms are measured in sunlight and shadow, in the tilt of the earth's axis and in the ancient memories of trees.”
- Will Weaver, from the Foreword to
Sugartime by Susan Carol Hauser
Maple Syrup production has been an important part of New England culture and industry since the earliest Colonial days. It is thought that Native Americans accidentally discovered the sweet properties of maple sap by experimentally cooking food in sap collected from beneath a broken branch. Then they progressed to slashing the maple trees, collecting the sap and boiling it all the way to sugar crystals. When the Colonists arrived maple sugar was an item of trade and the process itself was passed on to the new arrivals.
The production of Maple Syrup is one of those "simple-yet-complex" processes. Very simply one gathers the sap from the trees and boils the sap down to syrup! There... how's that for simple?
In reality, one must expend much energy and know-how to do it and do it right. The process begins in very early spring, around the end of March. The weather and temperatures have to be just right for the sap to "run" from the roots upward through the tree. A "tap" (called a spile) must be pounded into the tree at just the right depth and angle, and again at just the right time. Next, a sap bucket is hung from the tap (in places where many trees are close together, tubing to central gathering pots is often used).
Then the fun (usually) starts. If the weather conditions are just right (cool nights and warmer days) the sap can run so fast that you can barely keep up with emptying the buckets and transporting the sap. Other seasons the sap might flow so slowly that volume is very low and the resulting syrup production is even lower.
Once the "run" is complete (usually 1-2 weeks) the next task is to boil the sap down to syrup. This is an energy and labor intensive process as it takes about 25-37 gallons of sap to boil down to produce one gallon of syrup. So no matter what fuel is used to create the heat to boil down the sap, it's an expensive and lengthy part of the whole production process.
Next, this so-called "Liquid Gold" is professionally bottled for you by Sugah Shack™.
It is very true that you pay a bit more for pure Maple Syrup. But, the resulting product is by its very nature... "All Natural" and "Organic." Nothing is added! There are no artificial additives! No artificial colors! It is 100% Pure, Grade A Maple Syrup from the great state of Maine.
Sugarin' Time