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MapleSyrupApril01

Maple Syrup April 2001

April 2001

LAND O'LAKES -NEWS & VIEWS Home

Maple Syrup Season Draws to a Close

by David Brison

MapleSyrupApril01 Maple Tree at Lothlorien Farms

The major maple syrup producers in the area report that the season this year was average to good. The season started slowly, then picked up considerably, and for most, ended this weekend with the warm weather and rain. Some producers reported that the run of sap that produces the premium light-coloured syrup was longer this year, and consequently they were able to fill most of their orders with light syrup with a subtle maple flavour.

The producers I talked with prefer the slightly darker, lower grade syrup, which has a stronger maple taste. My own tastes run to the darker, stronger flavoured syrup; I dont like subtlety on my pancakes.

This season we have decided to feature those maple syrup operations that are smaller in scale. Jeff Green and Martina Field and their children are making syrup for the first time this year. They have a galvanized pan about 20 inches by 40 inches which sits on top of a drum cut in half. When the fire is high, Jeff estimates that the sap goes down an inch an hour. They have been taking the sap into the house to finish it off. Their syrup has a delightfully strong maple taste.

Linda Rush, Director of Adult Services at the North Frontenac Community Services Corporation, has been making maple syrup for a number of years at her home at Lothlorien Farms in Ompah. There are several large stands of maples around her home which Linda taps. She empties the buckets by hand into pails and carries the pails downhill to an evaporator in front of her house.

Linda makes 11 or 12 gallons a season she sells about a third, gives away a third, and uses the rest for herself and her family. What distinguishes Lindas operation from other small ones Ive visited is the quality of her evaporator. She has a small, but high quality evaporator a scaled down version of the larger evaporators used by bigger producers. The stainless steel pan is about two feet by six feet, and is capable of a very fast boil. She also does not need to finish off the sap inside like most small operations with makeshift evaporators have to do to. She draws finished syrup directly from the pan and carries it to the house to be bottled.

Linda thinks that her evaporator could support a system with 300 taps, and at an average of a gallon per five taps, could produce about 60 gallons.

Linda loves the maple syrup season. "It gets me through March and part of April to the start of gardening. For me, it is a signal that spring is happening. It is wonderful to be outside at this time of year. The birds are coming back I saw a bluebird the other day. The work is very rewarding and pleasurable."

MapleSyrupApril01 Linda Rush with Small Evaporator

Standing by the side of her evaporator, dipping her scoop into the last chamber, and watching it drip to see if it is ready to take off, Linda is the picture of contentment.

With the participation of the Government of Canada