One of the things that always helps me get over the exhausting cold and dreary weather this time of the year is thoughts of that sweet Canadian life blood: maple syrup.
I just can’t imagine a spring in Ontario without that pure liquid gold. It's like a gift from Mother Nature intended to apologize for the long harsh winter and teases a coy promise of the warmer days to come.
I have many fond memories of my times as a kid in the sugar bush on my grandparents' farm in Muskoka. My Grandfather Earl and Gramma Hedi Linn had about 150 trees tapped in the peak of operation. I remember their humble start with just a few tree-lined trails and a little pole structure all tarped off and a big pot boiling over the fire.
As the Linn sugar bush grew, so too did the crowd of family, friends and locals who would stop in off the snowmobile trail. Everyone seemed more than happy to slug a bucket or two and enjoy a little local gab, maybe snack and “hot toddy” mixed right out of the evaporator pan.
For a young child, the sense of community and the calming serenity of the woods during the early spring made lasting lifelong impressions.
During our March break, all the grandkids would get a chance to stay at the farm and go help with sugaring. The best part was our pay. We each had our very own bottle of the season's batch.
Given that it takes about 40 gallons of sap to make a single gallon of maple syrup, each bottle represented an impressive amount of time and energy to produce. Oh, but that sweet taste! It’s no wonder I turned into a maple-syrup purist. Only the real stuff for me, please, and the darker the better.
In the kitchen, pure maple syrup is an outstanding ingredient. It has a wide variety of applications and makes an excellent addition to any recipe that needs that little touch of sweetness. Light, dark, granulated maple sugar or even the fresh sap all have great potential to inspire culinary greatness.
Here in Simcoe County, we have a long history of maple production and many great local producers.
Maple sugaring is a growing agri-business with excellent potential for growth not only in supply production, but as a product that ties into culinary tourism.
Williams Farm is one of our local producers. Owned by John and Suzanne Williams, the sugar house is operated by John with help from his family, Kim Kerr, and several local staff members.
John was another kid who grew up helping his parents make syrup. His early experience working 130 taps sparked the passion for maple that saw he and his family jump back into making syrup in 2001.
Williams Farm now has grown to 3,400 taps in 55 acres of prime Simcoe County maple bush located on the edge of the Wye Marsh, just south of Midland.
The Ontario Maple Syrup Producers Association (OMSPA) does a stellar job of representing, supporting and promoting all things maple in our region. Many of the member farms and producers will be opening their doors this spring so that you can get your own glimpse into the magic that is sugaring.
Simcoe County sugar shacks will be open the weekend of April 2-3. If Mother Nature plays along, the sap will be flowing, fires burning and the pans steaming for you and your families to experience first-hand. All the information and how to find a weekend maple experience can be found with this link: Maple Weekend – Ontario Maple.
As part of our Georgian College hospitality department's commitment to developing urban agriculture on campus, our team wanted to try our hand at sugaring. Lucky for us, it turns out we actually have several sugar maples planted on campus. Our own Governors Grove along the main entrance about has approximately 12 trees that we were able to tap and harvest from last year.
This year, we hope to tap a few additional trees at other locations around the school.
It really is fulfilling as an educator to be able to have the opportunity to share this decidedly Canadian experience with our students. There is no better education than being able to experience first-hand the process that holds so much presence in our identity as Canadians.
For me, it brings me right back to those sweet early spring days working the sugar shack with my gramma and pa…. and I still get my syrup.
Daniel Clements is the chef technologist at Georgian College’s School of Hospitality and Tourism.
