Maple Syrup

[ltljohn]

Last night while watching a show called "How it's made" they were making maple syrup.
This brought back memories of my high school days in Maine, dragging a toboggan through the woods before school to collect the sap from the buckets. After school it was light a fire under the half barrel and start cooking it down till about 9 or 10 when it was small enough to bring in to the house and finish on the stove. That was good stuff, making syrup and then candy by cooking it down further and throwing spoonfuls in the snow. That was, at the time, the best stuff I ever tasted. It probably was not all that great as far as syrup and candy go beacuse we really did not know what we were doing but you know how it is when you put your own time and effort into something.

Maple syrup season will be here before you know it!!! YUM YUM :eat

[Mongo]

And Parkers Maple Barn (http://www.parkersmaplebarn.com/)will open. A tell tale sign that spring is close at hand.

[The_Veg]

I went to a restaurant in Japan that had maple syrup as the dipping-sauce for some fried Camembert. OOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH it so good!

(The Veg said as he drooled on his keyboard)

[Bokrijder]

My family had a sizable sugar business. Three generations in operation, then Gypsy Moths did a number on the bush. The trees never fully recovered and that was the end of it. It was a shame to see it end -- yes, very fond memories.

Motard

[Holly]

The first time I was in Algeria (long story, DGT) I discovered that the traditional gift there is sugar. At every event a modern gift is given, but it is usually accompanied by sugar. So on my return, I brought maple sugar candies. The conversations would go something like this, both of us speaking in French as a second language:

Me: Here is some maple sugar. It is made from the sap of our maple trees.
Them: From trees? (disbelieving looks)
Me: Yes, you get the sap from the trees and boil it to make the sugar.
Them: Oh yes (trying desperately to look polite and believing but failing)

You would then see them wondering whether to back away slowly or ask for more sugar. The sugar always won.

Holly

[clowry]

We make our own at our cottage. We noticed a couple of years ago that the huge maple in our yard had cork plugs in it, and the light bulb lit up. Did it on the barbeque in a big deep rectangular stainless steel pan. Last winter we were at Costco and saw turkey fryers on sale. The light bulb went off again. We now have our boiling apparatus (2 turkey fryers hooked up to a 100 lb propane tank) on the back deck, and eagerly await the running of the sap! Unfortunately, last year we had 80 litres of sap go rancid on us when we decided to go off on holiday for a week and a 'warm spell' hit during our absence. Now THAT's something you don't want to experience, believe me!

Cheryl