March Madness

Legend has it that people learned about maple syrup from the animals, particularly the red squirrel, who, due to its ability to climb through the limbs of the sugar maple tree, easily helps itself to the sweet substance that sometimes oozes from natural cuts in the tree. After being exposed to the sun for a time, the sap thickens into syrup and eventually crystallizes into sugar as the water evaporates from it. 

 

Pure maple syrup is a precious treat, but well worth the price it fetches. (The real good stuff goes for as much as $10 a pint and more.) Apparently, this is why many people choose to purchase Log Cabin or Mrs. Butterworth’s instead. But, do they know that good ol’ Log Cabin and Mrs. Butterworth have been keeping a big secret all these years? They are not at all even close to being real maple syrup. In fact, the ingredients label on a bottle of Log Cabin Syrup reads as follows: Corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, water, and contains 2% or less of: caramel color, salt, natural and artificial maple flavor, cellulose gum, preservatives (sorbic acid, sodium benzoate), sodium hexametaphosphate, mono and diglycerides. Whew! That’s quite a lot of stuff that ISN'T maple syrup! 

Since I have been blessed by the presence of a beautiful, old sugar maple tree right next to my home, I decided to experiment one year and see just what it takes to make real maple syrup. The first attempt took all day and produced about a shot glass full of the golden substance, but that didn’t deter me, in fact, I have pretty much become obsessed with the whole process and since by the time March rolls around I’ve completely had my fill of winter, it’s pretty much the only thing I think about right about now when the sun has enough strength and the nights are still cold enough to get the whole process going. 

 

 I procured some “official” maple syrup collecting supplies (three buckets, three spiles and some hooks to hang the buckets) and am now able to proudly state that I’m a full-fledged maple syrup maker. Woohoo! I’m quite content to patiently wait as the water boils off and creates a completely pure and delicious natural treat that can be used from anything to flavoring a loaf of bread to sweetening a cup of coffee, and yes, topping off a fresh, hot stack of pancakes, too!