sugar bush – The Outdoors Guy

There is nothing quite like the maple syrup time of year, and I have spent more years than I can recall working the sugar bush. Times I will never forget..not easy work, mind you, but extremely rewarding and tasty!

What a blast it was – running lines, repairing breaks, tapping, watching the evaporator, taking-off the syrup and running the old creaky canner. The whole operation is a hoot right down to the moment when that first batch of syrup comes off…man, it tastes awesome when its warm.

There is a certain science involved in any maple syrup operation; from understanding the sap’s sugar content at various times of the year, knowing the colour, taste and density of different grades of syrup, to skills like understanding how to build and maintain the perfect fire to keep your evaporator going steady. Its not as easy as its sounds!

Then there’s moment when the ‘webbing starts’ at precisely 7 degrees above boiling point of water, and your pure maple syrup is ripe for the picking, or pouring I should say.

Old school syrup producers have never used modern gauges and I’m sure never worried about it either. They can read more in the webbing off their ladle than a thousand sophisticated gauges could ever read..now that is science in itself.

The final product, well, it is a thing of beauty and there is really nothing in the world that compares to the taste of fresh maple syrup, or taffy on snow.

Canada produces 90% of the world’s supply of maple syrup(majority from QC) – a statistic we should be extremely proud of. It is a big part of our heritage just like hunting, fishing or the fur industry.

Now get out there and enjoy some pure Canadian goodness!! The forecast looks good for sap to run over the next few days and lets hope favorable temperatures remain long enough for another great season!

I just heard from our pal Ian MacDonald who will be out in the sugar bush this week!

Outdoorsguy

I was speaking with my father last night who lives in the Quebec Laurentians – the heart of sugar bush country – and it looks like syrup producers are poised and ready for take-off this week!

My Dad and good friend John tapped about 800 trees yesterday and have another 200, or so, to do today before they finish up.

From what I can tell, the season is at least 2 weeks later than last year, but hey, better late than never right?

Ah, there is nothing like the maple syrup time of year, if you ask me, and I have spent more years than I can recall working in the sugar bush. Times I will never forget..

What a blast it used to be – running lines, repairing breaks, tapping, watching the evaporater, taking the syrup off and even canning. The whole operation is a joy right down to the moment when that first batch of maple syrup comes off…man it tastes great when its warm!

There is a certain amount of science involved in a maple syrup operation; from understanding the sugar content in sap at various times of the year, knowing the colour and taste of grade ‘A’ syrup, to ‘old-school’ skills like knowing how to build and maintain the perfect fire for your evaporator.

Then it is moment(many hours later) when the ‘webbing starts’ at precisely 7 degrees above the boiling point of water, and your pure maple syrup is ripe for the picking!

Old school syrup producers have never used these modern gauges and I’m sure never worried about it either. They can read more in the webbing off their ladle than a thousand sophisticated gauges could ever read..now that is pure science.

The final product, well, it is simply a thing of beauty and there is really nothing in the world that compares to the taste of fresh maple syrup, or taffy on snow.

Canada produces 90% of the world’s supply of maple syrup(mostly from QC) – a statistic we should be very proud of. It is a big part of our heritage like hunting, fishing or the fur industry.

Outdoorsguy

Tag: sugar bush

Maple syrup on the way!

Sugar bush better late than never