Maple syrup

Fisher Cat said:

Glad to hear Christies is still goin. She was a teacher at our high school too, and me and 2 of my best friends worked in their sugarbush for 3 seasons or so.

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I haven't been there in a few years so I can't confirm if it is still there or operating under the same name. It was a modern facility, however, and I would be surprised if someone weren't boiling sap. The last couple times we went they no longer served breakfast but did have a nice gift shop ... and samples of the different grades.

MichaelJ said:

I'm sure we could make this on-topic by discussing sugar shacks near hiking trails. I'll start with the one on Rte 4 in Mendon, VT between Killington / Pico / Mendon and Rutland.

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Taylor Farm in South Londonderry, VT (taylorfarmsvermont.com). Just outside the GMNF. Very near/on the way to Mad Tom Notch, Hapgood, and the Catamount. Also a great place to pick up local cheese

They make maple syrup in Vermont? I thought it was just an evil rumour. I mail a can or two to select friends in Maryland, California and Switzerland. I only buy syrup from producers I know and whose name is on the can. I buy organic, BTW.

I'm sure someone will help me understand how and why a Maple Syrup Producer obtains certification that their maple syrup product is " organic".

When I buy it from my local farm stand in the summer, I've already seen and been with Ruel and or Ed loading the wood burner with wood, filling the arch with sap, and sometimes boiling outdoors into the overnight hours. On the occasions that I've been there with them, if they've needed to calm an over-active boil, they've used a dab of farm churned butter from their small herd of grass/hayledge fed milk cows.

I personally don't need the word " organic" added to a label to make the product seem any more real, relevant, tasty or spendy. Yes, their name is on the label of what they sell. That ownership of the seller's name and reputation is required by law in Maine, and in New Hampshire and in Vermont.

Is it different in Quebec?

Breeze

Slightly, I think. BTW, I was joking when I made that last post; I have bought and enjoyed Vermont maple syrup. Both Canada (federally) and Quebec have established standards for organic food. These standards can be very complicated, particularly concerning meat production. A friend who owns a medium-large operation is currently in the process of obtaining organic status. It takes five years and he had to replace his 'pans' with stainless steel pans with a certain kind of solder. No chemical products can be used to keep the sap holes open (that's illegal for all producers), or to clean and sterilise the lines (apple vinegar is used). Inspection is rigourous and frequent. Here we have 'supply side management' and syrup producers, along with poultry, egg and milk suppliers must sell their products through an agency. This agency polices production and quality standards.

For what it's worth, I have another friend in the process of obtaining organic status for his orchard, another five year process involving, among other things, frequent soil samples.

I hope this helps.

Thanks, Gremlin. I thought I was hearing a joke, but I certainly know now that we aren't far apart.

Yes, here in the US we also have a strict certification process, and that ORGANIC certification is hard won for those who choose to pursue the status.

I will say, though, that some folks will still hang out a hand lettered sign by the road and use the word organic when they are not entitled.

Breeze

peakbagger said:

There are some real low grades of maple syrup that the consumers dont get (or would want to buy), McClures in Littleton NH is one of the buyers of the low grade stuff that they blend and sell. I have a suspicion that 1% maple syrup in Log Cabin syrup is the dregs from the bottom of the batch. The new style taps and vacuum systems are extending the season signficantly and in theory there is more of the good stuff but a sharp change in weather can still shut off the taps in a heartbeat.

Now if I could find a local source of birch syrup I would be all set.

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Back in the day, when it was still locally owned by George and Dave McLure (father and son), my dad was the production manager there. They bottled syrup of all grades, from Grade A fancy to Grade B for cooking. They took syrup from producers all over the region, including Maine, NH, Vt, NY, and Quebec and Ontario. They blended syrup, but also sold it in specific VT and NH made varieties, as well as custom packaging via special orders. I spent several summers working there bottling syrup myself.
Sadly, they were sold to Dutch Gold quite a while back, and can't say what their practices are like these days, but back then they sold a quality product. These days I get my syrup from my own trees (100 taps).

Sounds almost as strict and complicated as single malt Scotch Whiskey.

Tim

MichaelJ said:

I'm sure we could make this on-topic by discussing sugar shacks near hiking trails. I'll start with the one on Rte 4 in Mendon, VT between Killington / Pico / Mendon and Rutland.

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Nope. I wouldn't eat there even if you were buying and the health inspector was with us.

To me the most important tie into hiking is that its a source of yearly revenue to keep a local landowner afloat. Maple Sugar is tapped from mature maple trees, and therefore sugarbushes stay forested rather than being cut for timber or cut up for house lots. Anything that can be done to keep land in multiple use forest status rather than development or industrial forest land is good thing to me

By the way no slight on McClures, they provide a needed market to buy and blend the lesser grades, as well as the high grades and make sure that they end up in the right market. The syrup they sell in the stores is fine syrup. I prefer to buy mine from local producer but I know that at the end of the season after he has satisfied the folks who like B grade, he sells to remaining run to McClures.

LOL, Tim. Yeah, but only the larger producers go this route and some not so large who are trying to acquire a niche market. Smaller producers don't join the agency because they sell from home to people who know them. The ones who sell to stores and grocery chains need the accreditation.

A good malt, however, is a different subject.

Doug (the other one)

Thanks for all the advice. I knew there were other hikers that marveled at the maples, and their syrup, when hiking by them.

The syrup that I bought was somewhat as a flier. It was Berkley & Jensen (HQ Westborough, MA), perhaps better known as BJs wholesale store. It is labeled 'pure maple syrup' as the only ingredient, but ... not so hot.