I said to a co-worker the other day that each state’s maple days are a little different in feel. In Massachusetts I felt like a welcome visitor. New Hampshire I felt kind of like a colleague dropping in. In Maine I’m usually just one of the crowd. But in Vermont, I generally feel like family – sure, it might be a cousin that you haven’t seen for a while – but I swear, if I told one of these people I was hungry, I think they’d give me their lunch.
Jones Boy’s Maple, Danby, VT – not open yet this day
Tapped Out Maple, Danby, VT
I have such a soft spot for old trucks…
This is a father-son business – one of my favorite things about maple is that it’s often a family affair!
Bartering syrup for photos 🙂
Dad is on the left here
Thrall Road Maple, Poultney, VT I forgot that I had been here before.
I’ve never seen this before. I wonder how it sells? It’s no longer a pure product…
I’ve never seen maple in a milk jug before.
Verlaska Maple, Poultney, VT. This couple had spent a number of years in Alaska. Now they are in Vermont, hence Ver-laska.
This is also a HipCamp – I’ve never heard of this before. This is an app where you can find places to stay. Sometimes they are just tent sites, sometimes cabins, tree houses, or maybe a school but. Because they don’t have all the amenities, they often have great prices!
Greens’ Maple, Poultney, VT
Green’s has quite a presentation and a little bit different vibe. The evaporator room gets very steamy but the maple smell is just right!
We learned about the process in pictures before we went inside and experienced it.
Maple farmers often barrel their syrup as they make it. They might sell the barrel full or open a barrel to create new bottles of syrup in December. I don’t remember which place that I visited that had a barrel for sale for about $1,400.
Many of the farms I visited this year had ladies stoking the firebox. I have not experienced this before.
Green’s also gives a variety of free samples. The guy in black here was one of the tallest people I’ve ever seen which makes me smile even more when I remember this.
Genier Maple, Fair Haven, VT – this sugar house is converted from the old family garage. Plenty of space inside.
They graciously gave me this huge frybread and provided my choice of toppings. I spread maple cream on it and added some extra maple sugar – delicious!
In all my maple adventures I’ve never seen a tank raised on a automotive lift before.
Cuttin’ It Sweet, Hubbardton, VT
Brian’s original evaporator
There was a girl scout troop here working on their maple merit badge
This team appeared to work wonderfully together and had a super product!
Silloway Maple, Randolph Center, VT
I have visited Silloway once or twice before. Some things have changed and some haven’t. They have the biggest wood-fired evaporator I’ve ever seen. The fire tender told me she thinks it’s the biggest one made. They also produce the electricity for maple and their dairy from solar panels on the roof here.
I remember fancy wood piles from before but these had lost something…
Small maple farms create a bottle each time they boil. Large farms create a numbered bottle for each barrel they create. This represents a lot of barrels.
I told this lady that I’d never seen anyone wear ppe to feed the fire box before. She said that the box runs so hot and the door is so large she wears it to protect herself from the heat, not flying or sharp objects.
I’ve never noticed fingerprints on the smoke stack before, but I may not have looked that closely. I was thinking that the oils from someone’s hands was attracting the smoke, but the pattern is just the opposite. Maybe there were oils on the stack that got wiped off by fingers…
Best maple in show at the Tunbridge Vermont’s World’s Fair – pretty impressive (I think) 😉
Some amazingly light syrup!
HodgePodge Maple 