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Sugarhouse
Mar. 9th, 2009 03:25 pmWe unexpectedly went to a maple sugaring demonstration on Sunday. It was surprisingly close, less than a half-hour drive from home. The area was rural and surprisingly beautiful; we had a lot of fun.
It was a last-minute thing. Teri's mother had Sebastian, and had decided to take him there; we decided to join them. I didn't even remember to take the camera.
That was a pity, because there was a lot that I'd like to have photographed. We saw a video about maple sugaring that had some interesting information; I was surprised to hear that maple sugar is made only in the USA and Canada. It was also interesting that there was a time when maple sugar was a major rival to cane sugar, and was considered the more "moral" choice because sugarcane was harvested by slaves.
We went for a walk with a tour group, found a maple tree, and tapped it. Unfortunately no sap was forthcoming; you need below-freezing temperatures at night and warm days to get a high sap output. But they had some sap already harvested, and Sebastian carried a bucket of sap to the sugarhouse. There they were boiling down the sap to make syrup, and they showed the kids how the native Americans had made maple syrup and candy.
Then came the free samples. :D
I'd never heard of maple tea. It's not a tea at all, but rather maple sap that has been boiled down somewhat, but not enough to become syrup. It was delicious. The maple cream was pretty good (to be honest, I've had better), and the maple candy was sweet and crunchy. There were also maple cookies, and they were SO good that I got the recipe. :D
We had a lot of fun. I got some photos and video on my cellphone, but I need to work out a way to be able to download them via USB. I am NOT going to pay to send them over the phone - the cost for that is insane!
It was a last-minute thing. Teri's mother had Sebastian, and had decided to take him there; we decided to join them. I didn't even remember to take the camera.
That was a pity, because there was a lot that I'd like to have photographed. We saw a video about maple sugaring that had some interesting information; I was surprised to hear that maple sugar is made only in the USA and Canada. It was also interesting that there was a time when maple sugar was a major rival to cane sugar, and was considered the more "moral" choice because sugarcane was harvested by slaves.
We went for a walk with a tour group, found a maple tree, and tapped it. Unfortunately no sap was forthcoming; you need below-freezing temperatures at night and warm days to get a high sap output. But they had some sap already harvested, and Sebastian carried a bucket of sap to the sugarhouse. There they were boiling down the sap to make syrup, and they showed the kids how the native Americans had made maple syrup and candy.
Then came the free samples. :D
I'd never heard of maple tea. It's not a tea at all, but rather maple sap that has been boiled down somewhat, but not enough to become syrup. It was delicious. The maple cream was pretty good (to be honest, I've had better), and the maple candy was sweet and crunchy. There were also maple cookies, and they were SO good that I got the recipe. :D
We had a lot of fun. I got some photos and video on my cellphone, but I need to work out a way to be able to download them via USB. I am NOT going to pay to send them over the phone - the cost for that is insane!
