Sat, Mar 8 2014 - Maple Syrup Tour and Pancakes! (View Original Event Details)
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As always, I've got to mention the weather in my write-up! While it wasn't the balmy 3C we were looking forward to, it was hovering around 0 all day, and considering how this whole winter has been (and continues to be!!) ... that wasn't bad at all!
It was a great day at the family-owned sugar bush, where we got in on their first day of 2014 operations. As promised the ground was covered in snow, making it as authentic a sugar bush visit as possible! After paying our entrance fees, we started off with the official tour of the site. Hal took us around various stations where we got to learn about how the trees make the sap, to how the sap runs up and down the trees, and why tapping a tree works in the first place. The second station introduced us to how the Native Americans most likely discovered sap and how they probably accidentally found out how to make sugar (not syrup) out of it.
Another incredible TOC moment was when we got to witness Hal tapping a tree! He explained how he must look for the right spot (not too close to previous years' taps), and how far to drill the hole. He cleaned it out with a little twig, and then gently hammered the tap in. Then it's just: add bucket and lid, and voila! A tree has been tapped. We also learned how the tree heals itself once the taps are removed.
Another station showed how watery the sap looks (since it's 97% water, after all!) and how they do the initial boil in big pots over a wood fire. Hal admitted that, since it was the first day, and it's been too cold for the sap to start running yet this year, that the buckets actually were filled with 100% water! LOL
Yet another station showed how the sap boils down in an evaporator. The sap has to get to a sugar/water ratio of 2:1 in order to stay suspended in a liquid form. At the end of the tour, we all got a sample to try! Hal was right, the wood smoke does make a difference!
Hal let us know that their hiking trails were too deep in snow to have a good walk, so we all (happily) rushed inside to buy and devour our fresh home-made pancakes. We gathered around rustic wooden tables and warmed up with sumac or hemlock tea, or maple coffee!
I'm very glad to have revisited Horton Farms for a maple syrup tour this year.
Thanks so much to all the drivers! We wouldn't have had such a great big group able to get out there and learn and enjoy if it weren't for you!
And thanks to everyone who came out. It was my biggest event so far with 23 people! We raised $28 in voluntary donations for the club!
Have some photos from this event that you'd like to share in our photo album? Please forward them to Erik Sonstenes at photos@torontooutdoorclub.com. Please note that we prefer to receive the photos in approximately 640x480 or 750x500 pixels - do NOT send original high-res photos. If you have a LOT of photos, please submit up to twenty of your favorites (only) for a day event, or up to forty of your favourites for a multi-day event. Thank you.