HELEN REMEMBERS Maple Sugaring W hen I was child, my family used to visit a local sugar house for an annual breakfast just about late February. The old barn board structure sat close to the main road and was part of an expansive farm of maybe 400 acres. Gnarled maple trees lined the stone walls that surrounded most of the fields and tin collecting pails hung from every one of them. As we drove into the lot we could already smell the combination of wood smoke and maple-scented steam coming from the narrow chimney at the far end of the shed. We knew that we’d get to see the sap bubbling away in large open pans and we’d all get our fair share of maple syrup. Mostly local folk came to this spot for their seasonal breakfasts. The place was pretty primitive and most people wore everyday flannels and warm coats. One side of the sugar house was lit by a row of windows that looked out over the fields and the other was taken up by the wood stoves and flat pans of sap being boiled down into syrup and maple sugar. Conversation was animated. There were long trestle tables with red checkered tablecloths. Backless benches were pulled up on both sides. Pierced tin lanterns hung above giving off a faint glow; and there were coffee cups at each place. We’d quickly sit down and plates and silverware were set out. Soon platters, heaped with steaming pancakes, homemade sausage and maple-cured bacon, were passed among the diners. I particularly remember that the maple syrup was served hot. I would always place a pat of butter between pancakes and then pour my syrup over the top of the rich brown cakes. I swear that I can still smell the combination of butter and maple sugar after all these years. And the pancakes with syrup tasted even better than they smelled. A long standing tradition The earliest records of maple sugaring survive from the French who came to Canada in the 1500s. These trappers copied methods used by native peoples. The best months were from February to early April when daytime temperatures reached 45 degrees and night temperatures dropped to 20 degrees. The sap runs clear until buds begin to form on the trees. At that time, the sap darkens and smells earthy, giving a signal that the season is over. The trees were slashed with a series of Vshaped cuts. Sap dribbled into bark buckets set beneath the cuts. The sap was boiled down to maple sugar in large iron kettles over open fires. By about 1790-1800 farmers began to drill holes in the maple trees. A wooden spile was driven into the tree and wooden buckets were placed just beneath to catch the sap. Spiles were generally made of Sumac because this wood is hollow and is perfectly adapted to the task. By the late 1800s, metal sap spouts were developed with hooks on the underside from which buckets were hung. Early settlers generally had a hard time wrapping their minds around the concept of syrup, using their sap to make maple sugar which kept well as opposed to syrup, which can spoil if not refrigerated. Once canning was developed about the time of America’s Civil War, syrup became much more popular. Sap was boiled in open kettles in the early days. These were the same iron kettles that WANTED: BASEBALL COLLECTIBLES! Robert Edward Auctions, LLC consistently helps sellers realize more money for their quality baseball material. We offer comprehensive auction services with more than 30 years of unparalleled integrity, knowledge and experience in the field. When Barry Halper, the world’s greatest baseball collector, sold his legendary collection, he insisted that Robert Edward Auctions, LLC oversee the historic sale of his 26 million dollar collection. 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If you continue to boil, you get maple sugar after you reach 230 degrees. When the sap threatens to boil over, you add a piece of fatback or sausage to control the boil. The result is the maple cured bacon or sausage that costs extra today, but in period was simply a by-product of sugaring. In the nineteenth century, production started at the first full moon in late February or early March. A big dance was held at night out in the sugar bush. A bonfire was lit; there were musicians and dancing; and foods like apple pie doughnuts, and sour pickles were served to accompany the first batch of maple sugar. People arriving by sleigh could hear the fiddles as they approached. The sugaring off party lasted late into the night. Today, the big producers of maple syrup use a process of reverse osmosis to pull the liquid from the sap. There is no more wood fire and because of health regulations; you don’t even get to watch the process. But sugar houses selling pancakes and sausage can still be found in rural New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont. These are all that survives of this country tradition. asked mother and dad about the process and they helped me to tap our trees. I hauled my little red wagon from tree to tree, anxiously emptying the buckets before they had time to fill even half way. After a few days, I had dozen or so gallon jugs of sap and dad lit a fire in the barbecue out back, setting our large enameled roasting pan on the grill over the fire. We boiled and boiled for what seemed like hours and ended up with a pint jar of the most beautiful amber syrup I’d ever seen. It took 50 times as much sap to produce a single unit of syrup, but we celebrated that weekend with just enough to serve for a single family breakfast. I learned to appreciate the hard work that goes into backyard syrup production. And I smile as I make the trek up to a not-so-local sugar house every February for pancakes and syrup. Thanks to Dennis Picard for assistance in the preparation of this column; Maple Harvest day at Storrowton Village is on March 14; Storrowton Village, 1305 Memorial Avenue, West Springfield, MA 01089, (413) 205-5051, www.thebigE. com. Questions for Helen H. Hill can be emailed to helenhhill@att.net or mailed to Helen H. Hill, New England Antiques Journal, 24 Water Street, Palmer, MA 01069. Return of photos or other submissions cannot be guaranteed. From our own trees At about 10 or 12 years old, I remember taking great interest in making maple syrup. I “ Murphy Insurance has always been there for us. They’re competitive, and more importantly, their service and claims support is outstanding.” www.northeastantiques.com Northeast Antiques, March 2010, Page 11