There is nothing like real maple syrup poured over freshly made pancakes.
It's a taste one never forgets and longs for time and time again.
Shown above is a bucket collecting sap at Mill Brook Sugarhouse, located in Lenox, in Western Massachusetts.
The actual process of making syrup from sap collected from maple trees is quite amazing.
The window of time to collect and boil the sap is very short, usually in March and it lasts only a few weeks.
It is a fun excursion to go to a sugarhouse and see how sap is boiled and made into syrup.
I went to Mill Brook Sugarhouse last weekend with three curious grands, my daughter, and son-in-law. We had a great time and learned a lot, too.
Elaine and Bill Markham run the operation at Mill Brook Sugarhouse which was started several decades ago by Elaine's father, Bob Herzig.
There are huge pieces of equipment inside the sugarhouse used in the syrup-making process.
On a day when sap is boiling, the fragrance must be wonderfully sweet.
Elaine conducts a great tour. She starts by showing how buckets as well as tubing are attached to maple trees to collect the sap.
It takes 40 gallons of sap and 39 gallons of evaporated water to make one gallon of syrup plus a lot of time to boil. But oh boy, the end result is worth all the time and effort.
Outside, there's even a game for the kids!
There is syrup for sale at the sugarhouse, too, in different grades.
I chose dark and it is very delicious.
My daughter selected very dark which has intense flavor.
I also picked up some maple sugar to sprinkle on my oatmeal and some maple granola, too. Fun, fun, fun!
This is the time of year to see maple syrup in-the-making.
If you are within driving distance to such an operation, don't miss it!
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2 comments:
I love maple walnut ice cream and you can't get it here where I live now. I've had real maple syrup too. Enjoy the things you bought there. I bet it was a very interesting tour.
Great photos. I use maple syrup almost every day in or on something. :)
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