March 21, 2011

This past week has heralded a great beginning to our 2011 sugaring season. With a snowcover of 5-6 feet in much of the woods (after the 3ft “storm of the century” two weeks ago), frosty nights, and daytime temperatures pushing up above freezing (but not by much), we have enjoyed classic sugaring weather so far. The thousands of gallons of crystal clear sap we’ve collected over the last ten days have all been transformed into delicious maple syrup. The color is light golden, and the flavor is exquisite.
We will have new 2011 maple syrup, maple candies, and maple marshmallows at the Union Square Greenmarket this Friday and Saturday, March 25 and 26. Maple cream will have to wait a few weeks until our production season calms down a bit.
The weather forecast for the upcoming week makes us optimistic that this season will hang on for a while. As I write, we’re getting yet another snowstorm, with 8-10 inches expected before it stops. Hooray, hooray! More snow means more maple syrup!
See you at Union Square!

In this part of the world, March madness does not refer to basketball. March madness is what happens when the woods are filled with people staggering around on snowshoes, trying to get all the sugar maples tapped before the sap runs. The madness part comes in when, just about the time you’re feeling like you might be nearly ready, a big whopping March snowstorm comes along and buries all your hard work – miles of plastic tubing snaking over acres of forested and steep terrain – under 3 feet of new snow. That’s on top of the 3 or 4 feet of old snow. And then it pours rain for a day. And then it snows some more.

Three guys shoveling for three days later, that’s where we are now. That’s why my husband, Howie, always says that people who make maple syrup might appear to be a little mad this time of year.

This morning we awoke to more softly falling snow, the kind that coats every limb and twig with the temperature hovering just below freezing. It will warm up by a few degrees in the next few hours, and the sap will begin to run. Added to the sap that we collected yesterday in this first real run of the season, we have enough to boil. That is, we have enough sap to fill our huge pans, enough to light the first fire of the season under them and begin the yearly ritual of evaporation, transforming the watery sustenance of the stately sugar maple into the golden elixir of spring.

Get out the pickles! Sugaring time is here!

Very soon we’ll be bringing our first syrup of 2011 to the Greenmarket at Union Square, just as we’ve done every spring for the last 27 years. We hope to see you there. And if you’re in our little village of West Glover, stop by the newly refurbished Lake Parker Country Store and pick up a jug of our delicious 2011 “essence of spring.”

In The Market 4.16.10

MAPLE CREAM is back! This week at the Union Square Greenmarket we have delicious maple cream made from this year’s new syrup. Yum. Spreadable maple.

Also, RAMPS are up in the woods and we will have a few bunches at the market. These fantastically pungent wild leeks are a real spring treat and are only around for a short while. If you really want them this week you should come see us on Friday, because they might not last until Saturday.

We have launched our new site, but you can still see our old one here: http://deepmountainmaple.com/oldsite