Maple Sugar Weekend

This past weekend started like many others these past few months - with snow. I decided  to postpone my plans to visit sugar houses on Saturday until Sunday, when temperatures were expected to be in the forties. On Sunday the conditions were indeed much better. With the sun shining it was a beautiful day to recognize New Hampshire's 2015 Maple Sugar Weekend.

In spite of the cold some of the producers were still able to collect enough sap on Saturday to boil on Sunday.

Making syrup is a simple, albeit lengthy process. It starts with a tap - and then something to collect it in, either a bucket, or more common these days, plastic tubes strung tree to tree and gravity fed to a large container which can then be transported by truck directly to a sugar house. Many producers will collect from nearby properties in addition to their own.

 

The list of maple syrup producers is growing every year, from backyard hobbyists tapping a few trees, to larger commercial enterprises. By visiting the NH Maple Producers website I selected two sites that were each within a twenty minute drive. My first stop was Brown Hill Maple Company in Bow. A relatively small operation, owned by Bruce Treat. I left with a quart of his grade A syrup. What started out as a small hobby has grown to several hundred taps.

Syrup is processed at Brown Hill Maple Co.

My second stop was CrowValleyFarm in Hopkinton. A much larger operation, their evaporator was about twice the size. Unfortunately, the unseasonably cold temperatures this spring has their production down by almost three quarters from last year. This business is totally dependent upon the right spring temperatures. Too cold and the sap won't run. Too warm and the tree will take the sap to fuel itself. Everone is hoping that conditions will be just right over the next couple of weeks with warm temperatures during the day and the thermometer dipping below freezing at night.

Entrance to Crow Valley Farm store where crafts and  maple syrup areally sold

Wood for the evaporator and tubing to collect the sap

A very impressive reverse osmosis systm at Crow Valley Farm

Outdoor setup at Crow Valley Farm with Christmas tree farm in the background

After my visits I not only came home with something to sweeten our next breakfast, I came away with a feeling of contentment knowing that following the New England Maple Sugaring season, spring buds will follow soon after.