The Maple Sugar industry was historically important to the pioneers settling this area, and continues to be important to Amish and Yankee farmers.

In the late Winter and early Spring of each year, one can see buckets or bags hanging from maple trees where a spile has been drilled into the side.   More recently, some maple syrup producers use plastic tubing to capture the sap as it runs, and draw off some into a holding basin.

The Maple Sugar season begins when temperatures are still below freezing at night, but rise above freezing (especially above 40 degrees) in the day.   It is important that the maple trees not become so warm that they begin to bud. When trees bud, the maple sugaring season is over.

Some years, the season lasts a long time – 6 weeks or more.   Some years, the season is very short, as a result of a cold end of Winter, combined with a sudden early warming, prompting the trees to bud too soon.   Generally, the month of March is the right time for Maple Sugaring.

Maple Syrup and maple sugar candy is an important product for Amish households.   Many will sell their excess syrup either on the roadside, or to other shops for resale.

Maple syrup has only one ingredient – pure Maple sap.   When sap comes from the tree, it is clear and thin, like water.   It is not very sweet.   Sap must have most of the water boiled out of it to become pure maple syrup.   It takes about 40 or 50 gallons of Maple sap to boil down to one gallon of maple syrup.

As a pure product coming directly from living plants, maple syrup has quite a bit of nutrition to it!   In fact, a modest serving of a few tablespoons of syrup provides some calcium, iron, potassium, zinc and copper, and nearly a full day’s allotment of manganese.

Visit Mespo in the Spring to catch a glimpse of maple sugaring in action.   Visit any time of year to buy maple syrup, maple cream and maple candy.   They are available all year long!