Maple Sugaring

If you live in Vermont, it's pretty safe to assume that you love maple syrup, but do you know the steps that go into turning maple sap into that delicious nectar on your table? CAE's Business Resources team worked with several of our maple clients to see how we could help expand their markets and sales. We worked with Vermont Way Foods, and CAE's Just Cut team to develop a line of single-sourced organic maple syrup. The syrup is tapped and boiled on small, owner-operated Vermont farms and bottled by Just Cut staff. The syrup bottling supports year-round employment for staff during the slower summer months and bolsters CAE’s mission of supporting local food and agriculture. You can learn more about the project at: https://www.vermontwayfoods.com/maple

The Process

1) In early winter, farmers tap their sugar maples trees by installing lines to collect the sap in the spring, when it will begin to flow and move through the lines to large storage containers.	2) The sap containers are often stored in the sugarhouse while the farmers wait for enough sap to boil.	3) When the sap is collected and is ready to be boiled, it gets piped into large evaporators.
4) Farmers boil the sap for hours, or even days, until 97% of water evaporates. During this process, the sap caramelizes, and becomes the maple syrup we all love.	5) The Maple Syrup is collected in 40 gallon drums, and then transported to CAE’s facility, the Vermont Food Venture Center. Photo of Jim from Judd’s Wayeeses Farms with his syrup.	6) The syrup is heavy! Each barrel weighs in at 495 pounds! We use a tractor to move it from the farmer’s truck to the facility.
7) A successful delivery! Lyman Gilman from Maple Mountain Sugarhouse poses with CAE’s Production Advisor, Colleen Crist, and Farm and Food Business Specialist, Daniel Keeney after delivering 160 gallons of syrup!	8) Next, our Just Cut team heats the syrup, and then uses a bottle filler to transfer it to retail sized bottles.	9) Each 40 gallon barrel of syrup yields about 400 bottles, ready to be shipped to store.

Why Wood?

Many small producers, still use wood to boil their syrup, rather than a steam-fired or oil fired system.  Wood fired syrup has several benefits.  First, it tastes better! The syrup cooks at a very high temperature (between 1200-1800 F) which gives it delicious caramelized notes.  Also, when the farmer opens the door to stoke the fire in the evaporator, little wisps of smoke creep out, leading to delicate smoky notes in the syrup. This kiss of smoke flavor adds to the terroir of the syrup, as many farmers use wood harvested on their own land to boil the syrup.

Second, Wood fired syrup is also environmentally sustainable. Responsible management of a sugarbush includes harvesting older trees as well as thinning younger trees to ensure that the trees are healthy and productive. The wood from downed trees can be used to boil the syrup.  Additionally, while burning wood does release carbon dioxide, it is carbon dioxide that was in the atmosphere and sequestered in the tree during its lifespan, meaning that the amount of carbon dioxide remains neutral. Oil burning, on the other hand, releases carbon dioxide that was sequestered millions of years ago. The release of this long-sequestered carbon is a significant contributor to global climate change.  

We hope you enjoy the subtle flavor notes of wood fired syrup at your home as much as we do here in Vermont!