Monday, March 28, 2011

Maine Maple Sunday


Yesterday was Maine Maple Sunday, with syrup farmers all over the state opening up their sugar shacks for tours and tastings.  We visited Merrifield Farm in Gorham, where the wait was over an hour in freezing temperatures just to get in to see and smell the sap boiling.  New Englanders and Canadians take their maple syrup seriously, so it was well worth the wait--plus there were pancakes served with fresh syrup, maple cotton candy, ice cream with syrup (yes people ate it in the cold), samples of maple cream, ox cart rides, live string band music, and much more.


The entrance to the sugar house.  Folks were still smiling after the hour wait.  


The farmer gave everyone samples of dark maple sugar--incredible!


Boiling the sap.  It takes approximately 40 gallons of sap to make just one gallon of syrup.  The syrup season runs for just a few weeks in the early spring, thus explaining the high price of maple syrup.  These farmers work incredibly hard, and they don't get rich from producing maple syrup.  It is definitely a labor of love.



My favorite part of the morning was heading out back where syrup was boiling the old fashioned way in large kettles over wood fires.  It smelled like the best breakfast you've ever tasted.  


These are vintage maple sap buckets.  Most farmers don't use these buckets anymore, opting instead for a system of plastic tubing, but I love these old beauties.  You can still find them at flea markets around New England or online through dealers.  I like to use them as planters.

What a sweet Sunday.  





19 comments:

  1. Oh yum. There is nothing better than the taste and smell of maple syrup. A wonderful way to spend a Sunday!
    Did you have ice cream with maple syrup?

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  2. Hey Gigi, those photos are so awesome because they made me feel like I was right there standing in line with you! Wish I could experience those tastes and smells, too ... thanks!
    SusanMarie

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  3. ...my 3 favorite words ....maine.maple.syrup.

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  4. Oh, that would be so lovely to taste the real thing and in the real environment. Thank you for sharing.

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  5. how wonderful! thanks for sharing...my daughter and her family went to see maple syrup made at a farm in PA this year!

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  6. Yum, I definitely would enjoy that too! :) xxoo

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  7. When I lived in NY I used to drive to Vermont JUST for the maple syrup and maple syrup candy. Pancakes aren't pancakes without that sweet gold poured over the top. Living in Australia is wonderful but I miss the change of season rituals so attached to New England and the eastern seaboard states.
    Textilediva.blogspot.com

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  8. I adore maple syrup. I ate a ton of maple scones at this cute cafe called the Brick and Bell in La Jolla, CA in March and now my hips are paying for it. LOL!

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  9. Straight from the source... ah, DELICIOUS! I love me some maple syrup. It's an expensive thing to get over here, so every drop is all the more precious. My hubby makes the best American-style pancakes this side of the Atlantic... and they have to have real maple syrup. ;o) Thanks for this outing, Gigi--great fun! Happy Day ((HUGS))

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  10. I've always thought this process was fascinating! Thanks for sharing this!

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  11. Thanks for taking us along. I would love to visit here sometime and taste the maple sugar. Oh, yummmy!

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  12. I'm going to add this experience to my life list. Boiling the sap reminds me of my childhood reading of Little House in the Big Woods; so glad that the tradition (if not the tin buckets) has survived.

    I have a sudden craving for pancakes!

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  13. Oh, Bee, me, too! I still remember Laura talking about pouring the syrup on snow--something we still do here in New England. It really is a wonderful experience to go to a sugar shack!

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  14. You know they do this not far from here, but we've never gone. Now, you have me interested! This sounds like fun!

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  15. Definitely go, Sue! I know you would love it!

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  17. My dear uncle lived in Lansing, Michigan on a dairy farm, and he used to send us containers of fresh maple syrup every year. It was by far one of my favorite gifts. To this day, I still taste the better of the best when it comes to the perfection of this 'labor of love' creation. One day, I would love to attend this event. To be surrounded by air scented of maple syrup...oh heaven!

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  18. the closest we have to this is sugar cane pressings. what a wonderful time

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  19. I have always wanted to do this! I am Canadian, but way over on the west coast, we don't have maples and sugar shacks. Someday, I am going to visit the east and experience this first hand.

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