Edible Season

Sugaring Into Spring

By Jennifer Maffett | Last Updated February 28, 2022

Tapping a maple tree in Western New York

In fall when the growing season ends, it feels good to put down the rakes and shovels and spend much of my days cozied up to the wood stove. As mud season rolls around, the appeal has worn off. I’m tired of extra blankets and extra clothes and it seems like the grey days of March and April will stretch on forever. At least that’s how it always seemed until we started “sugaring.”

As we enter our sugar bush and hear the “plunk, plunk, plunk” of sap dripping into our buckets it adds a quickness to our steps. Suddenly the cold is less heavy and the sky is lighter. The smell of the wood smoke mingling with the sweet scent of maple sap turning into syrup is like nothing else. It is medicine for a hibernating soul. Our arms ache as we trudge down the hill with our buckets full, but our hearts sing that spring is really almost here, and we joyfully tend to the first outdoor chore of the new year.

SMALL BUT STILL SWEET

The real business of creating maple syrup for sale is a complicated and labor-intensive venture with equipment and infrastructure that would make many corporate CEOs weep with stress. We have none of the efficiencies (or headaches) of larger-scale operations, but our old-fashioned setup still yields sweet rewards. Large or small, it takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. After lugging dozens of buckets, our first year of sugaring resulted in only four awesome cups of syrup. We now average about two gallons of finished product each year.

THE GIFT FROM THE TREES

When you are interacting with the living, breathing trees you can actually feel the seasons shift. You begin in low temperatures and high snowdrifts, but as the sugaring season ends—not on a specific date, but rather with a set of indicators—you witness the miracle up close. The buds on the maple start to open. There is a different smell to the air. The bugs suddenly show up, crowding into your buckets if you haven’t pulled your taps yet. The sun looks brighter. It’s months before you can plant your annuals and months before your beans can be put outside but now the planting of potatoes and onions is only weeks away.

Heady with success of the harvest, we make maple-spiked libations and maple-flavored foods to acknowledge the beneficence from our woods. The gift from the trees is dribbled in our morning coffee and Mapletinis are crafted for happy hour. And finally, the buckets are packed up for storage. It’s time to get those rakes and shovels out again.