I almost let it get by! This is the first weekend of Maple Sugar Weekend in New York! What does that mean? It means that the air is filled with the lovely aromas of maple sap being boiled down to make maple syrup, maple spreads, and maple crystal candies. This last winter was perfect for the sugarers in our area. We had deep snows, slow melt, and a long cold spell for the trees to rest and recover from last summer's drought.
The Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) is a native tree of North America. Trees were tapped by Aboriginal tribes well before Columbus arrived by inserting a hollow wooden tube into the side of the tree. As the sap rises in the Spring, some of it is deverted to come out the tube. A similar principle is used today using more modern materials.
Once the sap is collected, the water is boiled off and syrup bottled for use. A sealed bottle of fresh maple syrup will keep for about six months. Maple sugar will keep quite a bit longer if stored in an airtight container in the freezer.
Including Canada, Northeast America provides the majority of the maple syrup to the world (also see: http://www.canadianmaplesyrup.com/maplehistory.html).
For more information about next week's events including places where you can see and purchase NY maple products: http://www.mapleweekend.com/locations.php
For more interesting facts about maple sugar: http://maple.dnr.cornell.edu/FAQ.htm
For more information about next week's events including places where you can see and purchase NY maple products: http://www.mapleweekend.com/locations.php
For more interesting facts about maple sugar: http://maple.dnr.cornell.edu/FAQ.htm
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