Legend in the US has
designated the first maple syrup maker and cook as an Iroquois woman,
the wife of one Chief Woksis. One late-winter morning, the story goes,
the chief headed out on one of his hunts, but not before yanking his
tomahawk from the tree where he had thrown it before.
On this particular day the weather turned quite warm, causing the
tree’s sap to run and fill a container standing near the trunk. The
woman spied the vessel and thinking it was plain water, cooked her
evening meal in it. The boiling that followed turned the sap to syrup,
flavoring the chief’s meal as never before. And thus began the
tradition of making maple syrup.
Aspen Farms uses modern equipment to
transform the sap into sweet, pure maple syrup. We package our
selection of products in a variety of containers. Gift boxes from
Aspen Farms make great gifts for loved ones, family and employees!
“Before the bud swells, before the grass springs, before the plow
is started, comes the sugar harvest. It is the sequel of the bitter
frost; a sap-run is the sweet good bye of winter.” ~ "Phases Of
Farm Life" American Naturalist, John Burroughs.
Genuine maple syrup is made from nature, from the sap of maple trees,
harvested in the late winter and early spring. If you buy your syrup
from the grocery store, however, it’s most likely made of artificial
maple flavoring. Look at the label to find out. If you haven’t tasted
the natural sweetness direct from the maple tree, try some real maple
syrup made right here in Wisconsin.
“A sap run is the
sweet good-bye of winter. It is the fruit of the equal marriage of the
sun and the frosts.” ~ John Burroughs, Signs and Seasons, 1886.
Spring brings us the season of sap
flow. Most people look for the robin as the sign that spring has
finally arrived. Native Americans knew that spring came much earlier.
They set up “sugar camps” in the early spring when sap flows from tree
roots into trunks, breathing life back into the trees. They knew that
sugaring time had arrived when streams began to trickle, animals awoke
from their wintry slumber for a stretch, and icicles began to drip.
Even the red squirrels knew and pierced the bark to drink the sugary
sap. This magic flow inside the tree was (and still is) triggered by
cold nights below freezing and warmer days with temperatures pushing
above the freezing mark into the 40s.
Have you ever heard the term “sugar bush”? This means an area where
maple trees grow abundantly and provide an area for maple sugaring,
probably the same locations the Native Americans used as “sugar
camps.” Sugar maples have the greatest amount of sugar in the sap to
make syrup out of, but you can also tap red and silver maples, box
elders, and birch trees. An average maple will produce about 20
gallons of sap in the spring, which only amounts to 2 quarts of syrup.
Most of the sap content is made up of water. Traditionally, the sap
was boiled down over a hot fire for up to 5 days to get the thick
liquid that we know as syrup. You can tap sugar maple trees yourself and try
this traditional method of making syrup. Experts recommend using about
six trees for your first maple sugaring experience. This will give you
nearly a gallon of maple syrup. It takes a lot of work, but the rewards are
sweet.
