The days are getting longer, the chives are just starting to peak out of the ground, and with that comes another annual rite of spring — March Maple Weekends. For two weekends in mid to late March, maple fans can watch, learn, explore and, most importantly, indulge in all things sugary sweet made from maple sugar.
“The goal of maple weekend is to educate the public on how maple syrup is made and to show them all the hard work that goes into making one gallon of maple syrup,” says Dwayne Hill, President of the New York State Maple Producers Association. “We also try to educate the consumer on the health benefits of using pure maple syrup versus the artificial syrups on the market that contain high fructose corn syrup.”
Maple Weekends, which take place this year over March 22-23 and 29-30, are family friendly and often free events at more than 100 sugarhouses throughout the state. The event is presented by the New York State Maple Producers Association. The Capital District has farmers participating from Albany, Saratoga, Washington, Schoharie and Rensselaer counties, and many other farms are just a short drive away. The attractions vary, but pancake breakfasts, horse-drawn wagon rides, and lots of free samples are just some of the fun ways to experience this home-grown event.
• Quebec produces the largest amount of maple syrup in the world – about 80 percent.
• New York ranks No. 2 in maple syrup production (Vermont is No. 1) but uses only about 1 percent of available maple trees.
• A maple tree is usually around 30 years old before it’s tapped.
• Maple season lasts around two months, but it’s a limited 10 to 20 days where the sap flow is at its greatest.
My family has taken part in the fun for the past couple of years. Although I love learning about the process of turning the maple sap into syrup, our sugar shack visits are also a chance for the kids to let all of their pent up cabin fever run wild as they wander around a farm for a morning. After being cooped up all winter, Maple Weekends allow the senses to finally start coming out of hibernation. The sweet smell of maple sugar wafting through the air doesn’t hurt much either.
One year, my then preschooler chased chickens around Mountain Winds Farm in Berne while we sampled bite-sized homemade French toast with just the right amounts of syrup. Another year we toured Mapleland Farms in Washington County and had a full pancake breakfast with sausage and lots of coffee (always a parent pleaser).
“Families should visit the farms so they may smell the maple syrup in the air, see the process as it moves along, enjoy the many taste sensations and enjoy a family outing,” says Randall Grippin, owner of Mountain Wind Farms in Albany County.
However, maple sugaring isn’t all fun and games; there’s serious work that goes into converting sap into the delicious syrup you pour over those morning waffles. That process takes place in what is commonly called a sugar shack. The sugar shacks house the boiling tanks and have vented ceilings to allow the steam from the boiling process to escape. Although some find the metal pail hanging under a tap on a maple tree nostalgic, most professional maple farmers use a series of plastic tubing for sap collection. As the days get warmer, the sap flows in greater volumes and the sugar shacks get busy.
The spring of 2013 was a stellar time for maple production. According to the USDA, about 70 percent more maple syrup was produced in 2013 than in the previous year, as a result of high temperatures that drastically limited sap flow in 2012. As the winter snow begins to thaw, the starch that is stored in maple trees converts to sugar and rises up in the form of sap.
“We start tapping in January, and when the saps begins running in February, our pipeline/pump station system is used to collect the sap from the trees,” says Dave Campbell, owner of Mapleland Farms in Washington Country. “It takes 40-50 gallons of sap to make a gallon of pure maple syrup. Because we use reverse osmosis machines to take some of the water out of the sap before we boil it on our evaporator, it only takes about three to four hours each night to make about 100-125 gallons of syrup.”
Real maple syrup does not come cheap, but after an hour or so of experiencing the complex process of turning maple sap into syrup, you will see why it costs a premium.
Maple Weekends are great fun for the whole family and even the little ones will enjoy a morning wandering around a sugar shack.
“Some farms offer pancake breakfasts, some farms have horse-drawn wagon rides to the sugarbush to actually see the sap coming in from the trees,” says Hill. “Some other farms do samples of their products; they have coloring and activity books based on the production of maple syrup. Some farms allow kids to drill holes and actually tap a tree.”
Area maple farms
The following area farms will be offering activities during Maple Weekends. For an even more comprehensive list, visit www.mapleweekend.com.
• Mountain Winds Farm, 12 Williamson Road, Berne
The farm will hold maple syrup demonstrations, have maple cream, maple cotton and maple leaf candy available.
Open: March 22-23, 29-30
• Kent’s Sugar House, 2529 Plank Road, Berlin
In our woods, we show the use of wooden buckets and modern tubing for collecting sap. Sample syrup and maple popcorn and many other maple items will be available for purchase.
Open: March 22-23, 29-30
• Maple Valley Farm, 84 Harris Road, Corinth
See the boiling syrup, take a hay wagon rides and visit a blacksmith demo. Horseback rides available and pancake breakfast too.
Open: March 29-30
• Nightingale’s Maple Farm, 4888 Jersey Hill Road, Amsterdam
See demonstrations of sap collection from reverse osmosis through to finished the syrup.
Open: March 22-23, 29-30
• Sugar Oak Farms 50 Atkins Road, Malta
This is the first year in the new sugar house, with more room and an attached woodshed. Both days will feature interactive tours of the sugaring operation.
March 22 and 30