Monday, March 21, 2011

Maple Sugaring


It's maple sugaring season! Turns out I didn't really know anything about how that delicious syrup travels from the tree all the way to my pancakes. Until this weekend!  My mom was in town visiting, so she was treated to an educational tour of a maple sugar house.  It was really quite fun.

The Turtle Lane Maple Farm is a small mom and pop operation in North Andover, MA. Paul and Kathy, the couple who run the farm give great educational tours on weekends during the sugaring season, which is really mostly just the month of March, because in order for maple sap to flow, it needs to be cold at night but warmer during the day.  (See, I told you I learned something!) They walk you through the whole process, providing delicious samples along the way.  Well worth a visit.  And while you're there, be sure to pick up a jar of maple butter.  Oh, you'll thank me later.

The wood burning stove fueling the boiling operation

Steam rising as the syrup boils down

Steam escaping through the roof

The syrup archives. Each bottle represents one boil.

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