Every state has its claim to fame, but there's none sweeter than Vermont's being America's maple syrup capital. Vermont is the nation’s leading producer of maple syrup with annual production between 400,000 and 500,000 gallons. Vermont’s high concentration of sugar maple trees is also one of the reasons it consistently offers the nation’s most vibrant fall foliage.
Maple season in Vermont normally runs from March 1 to mid-April. During the season, maple producers all around the state collect sap from sugar maples and boil it down to pure Vermont maple syrup. It takes approximately 40 gallons of sap to produce one gallon of syrup, which means a lot of water goes up in steam during the day. In March, Vermont sugarhouses around the state host the annual Vermont Maple Open House Weekend. Visit a sugarhouse on a bright March morning and you'll find great plumes of steam rising out of the roof vents. And all of it comes from small independent sugarmakers using technology that hasn't changed all that much over the years. Yes, the sap is now gathered with plastic pipelines strung tree-to-tree instead of tin buckets and many evaporators are oil fired. But you can still find wood fired evaporators boiling down the sap as it's been done for generations. For information about Vermont Maple Open House Weekend and directions to participating sugarhouses, visit the Vermont Maple website. Also, pick up a copy of the “ Vermont Ski & Maple Map” at any Vermont Welcome Center or call 1-800-837-6668 for a copy of the map. Wondering how Maple Syrup is made? |