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It's Maple Sappin' Time!
By Michael M. Moskaluk, Bantam
Come, fill the Cup, and in the Fire of Spring, Your Winter-garments of Repentance fling. —The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
Weeks before the advent of the vernal equinox, on or about March 21, Mother Nature silently sets the sequence for the rebirth of the coming season. "Old Man Winter" is on the wane, and regardless of the fact that snow may still lie upon the forest floor, there is seasonal activity below. Mother Nature sets her own time-clock: It's maple sappin’ time!
Along with the advancing seasonal change, the daily temperatures begin to fluctuate between below-freezing temperatures throughout the overnight hours, to the above-freezing temperatures of the warmer, sunlit hours. This fluctuation delivers a message to all plant life within Mother Nature's realm.
Botanically, it is the phenomenon of "root pressure" that forces the "sap" (water and dissolved materials and nutrients) to flow as the earth warms for the coming season. Upwards, downwards and transversely, as the temperature fluctuates, the sap flows from the underground "root-hairs" of the "root-stem" of the maple trees: upwards via the vascular tissues within the younger annual rings referred to as "sapwood," rising ever upwards to the "leaf stalks," and ultimately into the "leaf veins," leading to the inner tissues of the leaves and buds of the "flowers" yet to bloom. Ah yes, dear reader—all trees, per se, do have "flowers." However, that segment of botany is a story yet to be told.
Centuries before the coming of "the white men" who settled our northeastern region of America, the native Indian tribes had perfected the method of tapping the several species of maple trees, gathering the sap and boiling it down to produce both maple syrup and maple sugar. The primitive method was taught to the surviving Mayflower Pilgrims of the "Plimoth Plantation" in Massachusetts during the "sappin’ time" of 1621, by the friendly members of the Wampanoag Tribe—and they, in time, passed the method along to others.
Unbeknownst, perhaps, to many is the fact that there are several species of maple trees that produce the sweet sap, which in the course of boiling (or evaporating) becomes the finished product—maple syrup and maple sugar. The most commonly referred to as the "sugar maple" is botanically the Bock Maple (Acer saccharum). It is highly possible that your jug of maple syrup—either "first-run," Grade "A" Pale or Grade "A" Dark Amber—may very well have been produced not only from the sap of the so-called "sugar maple," but also from a Red Maple (A. rubrum), the Silver Maple (A. saccharinum), the Norway Maple (A. platanoides), the Planetree Maple (A. pseudoplantanus), the Ash-Leaf Maple (also known as the "box elder"—A. negundo), and/or the "BigIeaf Maple" (A. macrophyllum), more commonly tapped in the northwest region of the country. Also, in certain areas of Florida, they tap the so-called "sugar tree" (A. floridanum). Personally, a good number of years ago, I enjoyed the sap of the common black birch trees as a tasty, refreshing drink, as opposed to boiling it down to produce a syrup.
In the "good ol’ days" (if they were), the preparation and producing of maple syrup and maple sugar was a chore! There are, however, the sentimentalists who nostalgically refer to these "good ol’" efforts as an enjoyable annual project—a change of pace, per se, from the "winter blahs." Maybe so; but rising out of a warm bed an hour or two before sunup to "yoke up" a team of oxen or to "harness up" the family Clydesdale, Belgian or Percheron, and hitch either the oxen or horse to the utility pung which had been loaded with an open-end hogshead or vat and several dozens of sap buckets—all this before breakfast—is not my idea of a "fun way" to start a hard day’s work!
Phase two of the day’s efforts started immediately after breakfast. Out of the barnyard, across the field and into the forest, trudging throughout a stand of maples (knee-deep with late winter snow), leading the team of oxen (or the horse) from tree to tree (wherever space allowed), stopping at each favorable-sized maple to bore holes with an auger or brace and bit (perhaps several in a larger-diameter tree), and inserting hand-whittled spiles (until the new-fangled metal spiles were introduced) upon which were hung the handmade wooden sap buckets. (These wooden buckets are presently rare antiques; I recently sold our last one for a rather hefty price to an antique dealer.) By mid-afternoon, as many as fifty or more buckets may have been hung to catch the precious drops of sap. It was then time to reverse their tracks and return home.
However, there was still work to be done before darkness set in. After a brief lunch, it was out to the "sugar shack" to prepare for "firing up" the "evaporator." This monster marvel replaced the ancient method of boiling the sap out-of-doors over an open fire. (The procedure was also carried on in cast iron kettles that were suspended from a crane within the kitchen fireplace.) Kindling is thrust into the lower chamber (firebox) of the evaporator, upon which was loaded split and seasoned cordwood. (Naught but chestnut, hickory and maple wood was utilized during the entire "evaporating" process.) The cordwood was brought in from the several cords piled high adjacent to the "shack" door. Darkness brought the day’s effort to a halt. The next day would start the gathering of the sap, and the third phase of producing maple syrup.
This primitive method of producing maple syrup from the sap of maple trees for families’ needs passed into history many years ago. The ingenuity of mankind developed the ways and means of lessening the physical labor while increasing the flow, the gathering, and the processing of the sap into syrup—which in due time became a very profitable commodity.
The introduction of the evaporator led to a greater need for sap. Many more trees had to be tapped to keep the "monster" supplied. More hands had to be hired to fulfill the need, and a sales person was required to sell off the excess production. Thus an industry was born.
In keeping with the operation of tending to the evaporator, there was a need for a constant watchful eye—a "quality control engineer." Usually, early on, it was none other than the "lady" of the homestead, with a pitcher of cream at the ready to control "frothing-over." It was she who supervised the handyman’s transferring of the sap to the evaporator and the maintenance of the fire in the firebox of the "monster." He was the roustabout who replaced the containers that had filled with syrup with empty ones, etc., etc.
Great strides have been made in the methods of tapping the maples; the gathering of the sap; the means of transporting and transferring of the sap; the "boiling" (evaporating) and the bottling (or canning) of the finished product. Today the repetitious hand-drilling of the holes has been simplified by the use of a portable gas-fired auger. One person moves from tree to tree drilling multiple holes while a companion inserts the "new-fangled" spiles to which plastic hoses are attached. These plastic hoses run from tree to tree for hundreds upon hundreds of yards, at the end of which run the sap flows into a huge container. Periodically, the container is hauled to the "factory" while an empty one takes its place. The "hauling" is via a tractor—no more oxen or horse power.
The procedure continues with the emptying of the sap into a huge "holding tank" (a reservoir). From this reservoir the sap is drawn into a hi-tech, computerized evaporator which monitors and completely controls the entire process. The finished product is automatically transferred to the filtration reservoir, from which the syrup is drawn off into bottles, jugs or cans. The entire process takes place under extremely sanitary conditions.
Maple syrup, regardless of "grade"—light, amber, dark amber, or the so-called "first run"—is evaporated at the rate of 35 to 40 gallons of sap to produce one gallon of 100% Grade "A" Dark Amber Syrup, which commands the highest price per gallon.
Within our local area, one may observe the hi-tech, sophisticated method of converting maple sap to maple syrup by visiting the Wamogo Regional School, located in Litchfield off Route 202. The entrance to the school is approximately 1/4 mile west of the entrance to the White Memorial Foundation and Conservation Center. Simply drive around to the Vo-Ag Department and ask for Chris; he is most knowledgeable in regards to the operation of the unit.
However, if one has the desire, I suggest you take the time to drive to the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. There, in St. Johnsbury, you will find Maple Grove Farms. They claim to be the largest producer of 100% pure maple syrup—Grade "A" Dark Amber—in the country! Personally, I assure you that a visit would be welcomed, and you will not regret taking the time; for more info call 800-273-3334.
And, if you wish to take a drive south, you can visit and enjoy the festivities at the Highland County Maple Festival in Highland County, VA; for more info call 540-468-2550.
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