Some maple syrup makers worried about late start of season

[Mugu]

AP via boston.com

SKOWHEGAN, Maine—Some Maine syrup producers say the season is off to a late start with delays caused by cold weather and taps and tubing hidden by snow in northern Maine.
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Bob Moore of Bob's Sugar House is busy boiling sap this week, but he'd be a lot busier if he could tap all of his trees. He said at least 75 percent of his 5,000 trees are unreachable. "I have trees that still have 3 feet of snow around them," he said. "It's not looking good right now."

Maine's maple syrup production can start anytime between mid-February and late March. But like most agriculture ventures, the season is subject to the whims of the weather.

"As usual, for some folks, especially in the far south of the state, sugaring season is over," said Kathy Hopkins, a maple expert with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension in Skowhegan. "But I doubt they'll be done tapping in The County until June," she said in joking reference to the state's northernmost county, Aroostook. "In some places, they just can't get to their trees and all their tubing is buried under snow."


Complete article at:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/maine/articles/2008/04/08/some_maple_syrup_makers_worried_about_late_start_of_season/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Latest+news

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

1. Ugg I have to use the fake stuff its so expensive

And it kills me because of my kids allergies (egg/milk) I use Maple Syrup and Molasses in allot of my baking..

[tridim]

3. I'll go without before using the fake HFCS version.

Maple syrup is a luxury, it's already too expensive IMO. Watch it double in price.

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

4. One mans luxery is anothers need..

I literally cant bake 80% of the things I make without Maple Syrup its incredibly versatile. Try baking without Eggs or Milk.. Its not really easy..

[tridim]

5. I use it too, especially in homemade granola.

I'll certainly miss it if it becomes unaffordable. Guess I'll have to use more honey, unless it becomes unaffordable too.

[DangerDave921]

14. Log Cabin

I grew up on the fake stuff. Log Cabin, Ms. Butterworth's, King's. I don't even like the real stuff. So thin and runny and grassy tasting. We have relatives in NH who always send us the junk. Although my wife and kids like it.

I thought global warming was going to make it warmer in the northern climes. ???

[eShirl]

17. it is warmer - but with record snowfalls this year

well over 100 inches
takes longer to melt when it gets deep

[DangerDave921]

19. OK

Well where did the record snowfalls come from when there are suppsed to be warmer temps?

I just don't get all this weather junk.

[aikoaiko]

7. its only 40-50/gallon -- how many gallons do you use?

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

9. With gas and other food going up

its not like im rolling in money so every dollar at the store matters..

FWIW I go through this




in less than a week..

[aikoaiko]

11. I'd say you are going through 5-6 gals a year. I'd buy bulk..

But pure syrup is worth it. :)

[knitter4democracy]

16. If you get the big containers, you can freeze it.

That's what I do (since it's much cheaper per unit in the big bottles). I get a big one and then keep filling a small one in the fridge.

Being from Michigan and having grown up with a sugarbush in the family, I just can't use the fake stuff. I get it from my old high school's FFA or from local farms. Getting it directly from the producer is cheaper, too.

[mainegreen]

2. 'The County' isn't a joking reference. Dammit, that's it's name!

x(

Seriously though, they got hammered this winter. This might drive maple prices up some, but Maine isn't a heavyweight maple producer, though I do prefer our maple syrup to many other regions syrup.

[Mind_your_head]

6. Ehm, I thought the sap doesn't start running until the area actually

warms up for awhile. If there is still 3 feet of snow around most of his trees, the sap hasn't started to flow yet, right? :shrug:

S/he'll just have to wait yet - tis all it seems like to me :shrug:

[aikoaiko]

8. In my time at NH we learned it was fluctuation in temp that made the golden sap flow.

[SpiralHawk]

10. "First the elms will die..." - Haudenausenee teaching

"Then the maples will wither from the top down. When the strawberries refuse to give their fruit, then the changes will be irrevocable."

[kestrel91316]

13. A lot of our street trees (sycamores?) here in Los Angeles

are doing just that. The tops look dead and aren't leafing out properly........

[kestrel91316]

12. I make my own faux maple syrup for pennies.

I found the recipe in Doris Janzen Longacre's More-With-Less Cookbook.

White sugar, brown sugar, water, maple extract. I don't have the exact recipe on hand. But it's really really simple and easy and cheap. And tastes great.

[Mind_your_head]

15. "Ain't Nuthin like the real thing baby"

That should be made into a song, dontcha think? Oh wait....it was...

Thanks for posting this....even though there isn't any substitute for the "real thing" at least your recipe doesn't use/call for any HFCS (high-fructose corn syrup).

Now would that 'white sugar' be cane or beet sugar? Or a mix?

:hi:

[Breeze54]

18. Me too but it's nothing like real maple syrup and this is bad for the economy

of Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire. And this is the second or third year this has happened in recent years.