The Joys of Vermont Spring: Maple Sugaring

In Vermont, Spring is a much more subtle season than it is in Connecticut or Massachusetts. The signs of spring are often harder to see here in Vermont, but if you look closely you’ll notice that the air is filled with red poles, red-winged blackbirds, snow geese, snowflakes, steam and smoke. The birds are from the South. The steam and smoke are from sugar shacks along the hillsides of Addison County.

According to the New England Maple Museum, maple syrup was discovered by the Iroquois. Iroquois legend claims that maple syrup was discovered accidentally. The veracity of this claim works for me. I imagine many great foods were discovered accidentally. Think about getting passed the choke of the artichoke for the first time or subduing the claws of a lobster.

Here’s my scenario: many of us in Vermont are longing for something sweet this time of year; Cabin fever (or in the case of the early Iroquois, Longhouse fever) brings us outdoors to enjoy increasing daylight hours; we take a jaunt in the woods and happen to break off a maple branch along the way; sap trickles onto our un-gloved hand and we lick it off. Voila!

Boiling the water off makes for a sweeter, more concentrated liquid – a just reward for surviving the New England winter. Even though the following video is from Montreal, we still employ the same sugaring methods here in Vermont.

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Click to view Vermont properties with Maple Sugaring potential and contact me for more information about these great properties. Have a sweet spring.