52 Comments
Commenting has been turned off for this post

How fascinating!

Now I am wondering whether it's possible to grow sugar maples Down Under... And harvest my own syrup...

Expand full comment
Jul 22·edited Jul 22

Good to hear a WCNY success story. You’re in good company with a lot of folks in the area producing lots of great agricultural products. I wish I was around there more often (from the little A town to the west; and have spent a lot time around there, especially hiking around Merck). Good luck!

Expand full comment

Hey Peter. We have sugar maples on part our 25 acres in Sutton QC. Know anyone who might want to tap them?

Expand full comment

I kind of relate stories like this to the journey of an artist. Even if you don't make a ton of money doing it, it's worth doing for it's own sake, the pursuit of happiness, as it were. I don't expect to make much in the way of dough from my AI radio plays, but doing it makes me happy. This description of sugaring kind of reminds me of the way I approach my work in AI audio.

Expand full comment

Maple syrup has become quite pricey up here in Canada (like everything). But man, that amber-colored, velvety richness of maple syrup is something to be had every once and while.

Great read!

Expand full comment
Jul 21·edited Jul 21

guy a few doors down make maple syrup to bad the maple syrup mafia ruins it for most of the producers

https://glissade.ca/en/cabane/

Expand full comment

My neighbor taps my trees and gives me 4 gallons in return. I get them in pints so I can pass them out to family and friends.

If you go to the Log Cabin Syrup website, you will notice the word "maple" is never used.

Expand full comment

Actually when I was a kid (50's-60's) Log Cabin was still something like 3% maple syrup (per the label) and you could taste it. Now I won't touch anything but the real stuff.

Expand full comment

I have a friend who moved to New York and then somehow syrup making entered into his posts on FB. Now I understand.

Expand full comment
founding

My maple syrup jokes were well timed.

Expand full comment

Maybe you could write a book - title it “Zen and the Art of Maple Sugaring”?

Expand full comment

What an amazing story. Makes me want to come over with my teens as an apprentice. We can broom the floors I don’t know, wash windows… or cook. 🤓

Expand full comment

What a palate cleanser, literally and figuratively.

Expand full comment

More like this please!

Expand full comment

Love reading pieces like this.

Expand full comment

I find the FP literally indispensable for getting “real news,” as by now I pretty much don’t trust any other outlets. But I love pieces like this. They’re a breath of fresh air, balm for the soul. More, please!

Expand full comment

We moved from Manhattan to six acres in Connecticut last year. I’ve been dreaming of tapping our many sugar maples. I’ve read some books on sugaring and watched videos on how to build my own evaporator outside. The timing of this essay feels like a sign. Can’t wait for late winter!

Expand full comment

I stopped buying maple syrup years ago as it has become ridiculously expensive.

Expand full comment