Your pancakes, waffles and French toast are going to taste so much better after you read this.
So much better.
If you haven’t noticed, it’s maple syrup season in these here parts. Well, actually all over the Northeast, but we’re not concerned with all those other places. We care about what’s happening in Concord and Bow – because those are the two places we cover.
Anywho, since the sap has been flowing for a couple weeks and syrup enterprises like Mapletree Farm in Concord and Treat’s Sugarhouse in Bow have been boiling some high-quality mapley goodness, it’s time to stock up on the fresh stuff. Move over last year’s syrup because you’re about to be replaced. That is if you have any left over, which if that’s the case you need to step up your syrup intake game.
And what better way than on Maple Weekend? Sugarhouses all over the state will be opening their doors for the public to show off what they do during the hectic and short syrup season. If you’ve never been to a sugarhouse while syrup is being made, you’re missing out. In addition to getting the lowdown on what it takes to turn sap into syrup, it smells delicious. There’s usually free samples, too.
Like every syrup, each sugarhouse does its own thing on Maple Weekend, so we’re going to break it down by place moving forward. It will just make it less confusing for all of us. Plus, we sure do love using those nifty little subheads.
Mapletree Farm
Location: 105 Oak Hill Road, Concord.
Hours: Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Website: mapletreefarmnh.com
Dean and Meg Wilber have been a part of Maple Weekend since it became a thing in New Hampshire about 20 years ago. So as you can probably guess, they’re pretty well known for their Maple Weekend activities.
Dean will be in the sugarhouse turning sap into syrup right before your very eyes and explaining the ins and outs of the syrup production process. It might not be as easy as you think and if you’ve got any questions, he’ll be more than happy to answer them.
“They can see the whole process,” Dean said. “I like to share the maple story and I’ve been sharing it since we’ve been here.” Which is now at 41 years.
Meg will be running the sugar on snow station, which is when you take syrup up to a very high temperature and put it on shaved ice. Good thing they weren’t planning on using actual snow, because if you haven’t noticed, there isn’t any these days.
“We make our own snow,” Dean said.
There will be all kinds of syrup samples from different boils this season, along with maple cotton candy.
And while samples are all well and good, you’re not going to satisfy your syrup craving with a couple taste tests. Good thing there will be plenty of syrup on hand to buy. You can get it in smaller containers like 3.4 ounces, half pints and pints all the way up to quarts, half gallons and gallons. And once you try the maple cream, you’re most certainly going to grab a jar to take home. There will also be maple candies, maple crystals and a few other surprises.
You can take one or both of the two self-guided tours through the Wilber’s orchard, where visitors can check out the different kind species of maple trees, look at the thousands of feet of tubing and check out old tap holes. They’ll even have maps to use.
“Quite often, if I have the time, I’ll take the kids out to the gathering field,” Dean said.
Treat’s Sugarhouse
Location: 3 Hop Kiln Road, Bow.
Hours: Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m, Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m.
Bruce Treat built his sugarhouse a little more than 10 years ago and has been using it for educational purposes ever since. He hosted Gov. Maggie Hassan’s ceremonial tree tapping last week and hosts school groups quite often.
So having throngs of people come by for Maple Weekend to learn about the syrup making process is nothing new.
“It’s a very complex process and it takes a lot of attention to detail,” Treat said.
Treat has a smaller operation than Wilber, but produces some high quality syrup. His orchard has been carved out of what used to be a very thick wooded area and the sap has been flowing like crazy.
“We’ve barely been keeping up with it. The runs have been short, but intense,” Treat said last week. “Right now you’re in boil or spoil mode.”
His spot is a little off the beaten path, but it’s definitely worth the drive to get to. Say hi to his poodle Bodie for us.
“A lot of them are like this, scattered around people’s back yards,” Treat said.
Last year, Treat’s first boil came on March 8, while this year he was already on his eighth batch by then. And that means there will be plenty of syrup for you to buy in a variety of options, like 12 ounces, liters, pints and growlers (all in glass) and half gallons and gallons.
“It certainly looks better in glass,” Treat said.
There will be plenty of samples and a fun taste test to see if people can tell the difference in syrup made at different times in the boiling season, different techniques used and different grades.
Depending on the number of people at any given time, Treat will give tours of his property – that is if there’s a break in the boiling process.
And just so you know, Treat will be open Easter weekend as well for people to stop in.
For more on Maple Weekend, go to nhmapleproducers.com and click on Maple Weekend. There’s a cool interactive map that gives you the low down on syrup operations all over the state. Maybe you can visit a bunch over the course of the weekend.
