Maple Syrup Season is Late for Second Year in a Row
by Bea Peterson
There’s a maple leaf on the cap of NYS maple syrup this year, along with a description of the syrup color and taste. It’s a new grading system and it is universal. Now maple syrup made in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Wisconsin and all the Provinces of Canada will be labeled the same. [private]The old grading system was created when maple syrup was a substitute for cane sugar, which, at the time was not widely available. Often states and provinces graded their syrup differently and consumers weren’t always getting the syrup choice they wanted. The new grades provide a better description of each of the classifications by color and flavor and, in some cases, merging some of the previous grades. New York and Vermont have flyers describing the new categories. They describe the flavors this way:
The former Grade A Light Amber is now Golden Color and Delicate Taste – light golden color with a mild, delicate taste. Excellent as a table syrup and over ice cream or yogurt.
Grade A Medium Amber is now Amber Color and Rich Taste – a light amber color and full-bodied flavor, this class of syrup is the product of choice for consumers who desire the classic maple syrup flavor.
Grade A Dark Amber is now Dark Color and Robust Taste – a dark amber color with a more pronounced maple flavor, this class will satisfy those consumers who desire the strong flavors of what has been known as Grade B.
Extra Dark for Cooking (USDA Grade B) is now Very Dark Color and Strong Taste – this syrup is nearly black and has a strong flavor that translates well to cooking where the maple flavor will carry through to the finished dish.
Whatever the choice, the unique flavor of maple syrup will remain special to consumers.
Season Late…Again
Dick Ogden of Running Brook Sugar Shack in Hoosick said the first time he and his brother Walter boiled sap this year was March 11. Last year the season started late as well. He hopes the season will run to mid-April this year and, if it does, he anticipates making at least as much syrup as they did last year.
Stages Of Making Syrup
The boiling of the sap is only a part of the task of making that delicious syrup. The season begins with the tapping of the trees. Most of it is done today with plastic tubing. But the taps still have to be put into the trees and that can be arduous when you have to go into the woods on snowshoes. Once the taps are in place, it’s a waiting game with the weather. Then it’s collecting the sap and getting it to the sugar house for boiling. Ogden has speeded up the system by using a reverse osmosis process that removes a good portion of the water from the sap before it gets to the evaporator. The evaporator has a steamaway cover that also helps reduce the boiling time. However, it still takes 45 to 50 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup. Then the syrup has to be strained and put into storage containers. Once the season is over the taps have to be removed, all the equipment has to be carefully cleaned and stored and the work continues. Wood has to be gathered, cut and split into small pieces to be ready for the next season. Then all the syrup has to be put in bottles and jugs for sale. So, syrup makers aren’t just busy for a month or two. They are busy for many months before and after the syrup making.
It’s something to consider when the delicious treat is lavishly poured on sweet breakfasts like pancakes, waffles, and French toast, or used for sweetening yummy desserts.[/private]