Maple Syrup

 The next shack we visited was located on a horse farm.

 Oops...The Blog Tech caught me walking to the sugar shack.  I was wearing his big jacket because it was much colder in the mountains than when we left that morning. He was also wearing a hoodie so I made him cough up his coat to me!

 This shack had a candy kitchen connected to it.  You can see maple sugar candies being made in these molds.

 They proudly display their awards.

 Maple leaf menus.

 Click to enlarge any of these pics.  This gauge says For Maple Syrup Only.

 Vintage sap transporting sleds.

 Off to the last sugar shack.  Next year we will try to visit more of them.

 This shack had vintage maple containers on display.

 Tapped trees.

 A farm bell.  Farms used to ring these if they had an emergency and their neighbors would come running to offer help.

 These horse troughs collect the sap.

 This is the system you most often see these days.  Each tree is tapped and a small plastic tube runs from the tap to the main artery.  Hundreds of trees are tapped this way and the sap flows to the troughs or holding tanks.  The shack owner collects the sap when needed.  This is much more efficient than dumping the sap buckets over and over again.The sap runs best when you have sunny days in the 40's and freezing night temps.

 I bought a lot of maple products.  The bag in the front is maple sugar.  It is especially good sprinkled on yogurt. On the left is a big jar of maple walnut topping.  Lots of maple syrup in all kinds of containers. On the right, in the front, is a glass log cabin filled with syrup.

 Maple taffy, maple nuts and maple hard tack.  Did you know that maple syrup has 15 times more calcium than honey?

 More nuts and maple sugar candy.

 Black walnut maple fudge and maple creams.  I had to hide this and dish it out a little at a time or my husband and The Blog Tech would eat it in an untimely fashion.
This is my favorite syrup, dark amber.  It has a much denser maple flavor.  The grades of syrup are based on density and translucency.  The lightest syrup is the most expensive and has a much lighter maple flavor.  I don't get it, it should be just the opposite.  This is a 2 quart jar and it cost 9.00. The same container filled with light amber would cost twice this amount.
 Maple BBQ sauce and maple mustard.

I also bought a sap bucket. I have no idea why other than I think at this point I was suffering from maple fever.
 It is covered by a domed lid which slips over the brim and a spile for tapping the tree.  Too bad my neighbor killed my maple tree.  The jerk.  Hope you enjoyed the sugar shack tour.

Comments

brokenteepee said…
My husband says the same thing; he thinks the darker grades are the better tasting. He sugared when he lived in Vermont
brokenteepee said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
coke said…
Very nice tour. You must come to Malabar farm next year.. I volunteer there and we have a fun tour. A history trail of how maple started and a neat sugar shack and this year a big new maple evaporator.. We also sell products and have food and a country band entertains... :)
Nellie said…
Amazing trip! I would have loved to go along with you! Great restraint on doling out those maple candies!
Anonymous said…
a wonderful outing and what great treasures, If you live closer I would have given you a sap bucket and lid, we gave ours all away, They use them for flowers,
Dog Trot Farm said…
Thank you for the lovely tour...You indeed returned home with some wonderful maple items...In our neck of the woods maple syrup is $19.00 a quart, but worth every penny...I like the dark amber for baking and medium for pancakes and waffles...Looking forward to seeing some maple recipes on your blog...It is snowing in Maine...
Anonymous said…
Normally it is the more taste the higher price, I wonder how it became the other way :-)

So many thing that can be made with maple syrup! Everyone over here knows of maple syrup but few have tried it, the rest of the things are unheard of here :-)

I wish I had a birch in my garden because then I could have tried to make birch syrup. I wonder if it tastes much different. I simply need to plant a birch this spring :-)

Have a great day!
Christer.
thewiildmagnola said…
WOW. Very good products!

I didnt know about the maple sugar.

The glass log cabin is a find too.
Guillaume said…
You make me feel so very homesick now.
TARYTERRE said…
I thoroughly enjoyed the sugar shack tour. My mouth is watering for some maple fudge and creams.
Barb said…
I have really enjoyed these posts. I like seeing the molds and so many tasty products!!
Herbalgirl said…
I always thought my home state (Vermont) was king of maple sugar. Clearly there are many wonderful operations elsewhere. I loved the look of Wagners. What a characterful place.
Jim said…
I did enjoy this tour, thanks.
Now I look forward to the 'new batch' of our local maple syrup....I have it every morning on my porridge.
chickpea678 said…
Our children's school taps trees in their gardening program. They boil down about 40 gallons of sap to one gallon of syrup and then they have a big pancake breakfast!
I enjoyed every minute of the tour. I sighed deeply over glass log cabin container...I used to have one of those years ago..and I still remember log cabin syrup in the little tin containers. One of my favorite things is Maple Bacon.. :) Thick sliced. That's the only bacon I buy.
luckybunny said…
What a great set up they have!! How fun. Also yummy looking treats! I'd eat a batch of maple fudge in one setting too, it's my favorite. SO many goodies :) I also love darker syrup, light syrup just doesn't cut it, although it's more popular in the stores... I think people just don't know better :)