ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Maple Syrup Production, Pancake Breakfast and a Road Trip

Updated on February 13, 2011
Source
Source
Source
Source
Source
Source

Maple Sugaring Part 1

Maple Sugaring Part 2

Maple Syrup Production

Maple syrup is made from maple sugar trees which grow in the northern climates of southeastern Canada and northeastern United States.  Maple syrup season is in late winter to early spring, for about four to six weeks, when the temperature at night is below zero and the daytime temperature is above zero.  This temperature fluctuation creates an internal pressure in the maple tree that causes sap to flow.  When the sap flows, it is “sugar weather.”  The activities involved in making maple syrup are called “sugaring,” and were taught to early North American settlers by Native Americans.          

The methods for harvesting maple syrup are the same as they were 100 years ago.  The methods used to get the sap to the boiling location or “sugar house” varies somewhat.  Hobby and small producers carry buckets.  Large commercial producers use plastic tubing systems.    

If you have access to a few maple trees, you can make your own maple syrup.  With a little extra processing, you can make maple sugar, candy, fudge, nougat, cream or other products.  Besides making great pancake syrup, maple syrup makes a delicious glaze for grilled salmon or pork roast.  It can add flavor to a sweet potato casserole and soften a pecan pie.  Maple syrup products make great gifts for family and friends.

A good maple tree for sugaring is about 10 inches round; which is about 40 years of growth.  Any species of maple tree can be used for syrup, but in Ohio sugar and black maples are preferred.  Maple syrup is made by boiling off water from the sap until a desired sugar concentration is achieved.  Sugar and black maples have higher sap content than red and silver maples.  Less sap is needed and less time and energy is required to make syrup from sugar and black maples.  The syrup from red and silver maple still tastes very good. 

Tapping a tree involves drilling a 3 inch hole into the trunk, inserting a spout into the hole, and attaching a bucket with a lid to the spout.  Up to three taps can be drilled into each tree.  Each tap can produce up to 10 gallons of sap in a good season.  It takes 10 gallons of sap to produce a quart of syrup or 40 gallons of sap to produce a gallon of syrup.  Tapping does not harm the trees.  Some trees are known to have been tapped continuously for over 100 years. 

The sap looks like water and tastes like sugar water.  It is a clear liquid that is about 98% water and 2% sugar.  The sap is collected and taken to the sugarhouse.  Sugaring is the process of boiling down the sap and converting it to syrup.  After boiling, the syrup is filtered, graded and bottled.  Correct temperature conditions must be met during the boiling and bottling process to assure the highest quality of syrup. 

In Ohio, the demand for maple products exceeds production.  The market is wide open for Ohio woodland owners who want to supplement their income or diversify.  While there are significant start-up costs, rapid recovery of investment is possible due to the worldwide demand for maple products that can only be produced in a small region of the world.  Generally, a 500 tap or larger operation is needed to generate significant supplemental income for a household.  About 70% of maple products are sold “farm-gate” – on the property where they are produced.  The remaining products are sold at craft shows, gift shops, farmer’s markets, or are sold wholesale to retail packers.  

State Maple Producers Associations

See the links below for information about maple production in some of the maple producing states. These links have information about maple farm tours and where to purchase maple products:

North American Maple Syrup Producers Manual: Second Edition

This manual is intended to serve as a basic handbook for the production of pure maple products. Current information and recommendations relating to all aspects of the industry are presented. These guidelines should be helpful to the hobby and beginni
This manual is intended to serve as a basic handbook for the production of pure maple products. Current information and recommendations relating to all aspects of the industry are presented. These guidelines should be helpful to the hobby and beginni | Source

Pancake Breakfast and a Road Trip

The Geauga County Historical Society is hosting its Annual Pancake Breakfast at Century Village in Burton, Ohio during its maple sugaring time. Visitors can taste the maple syrup that is grown there and learn about maple syrup production.  The pancake breakfast includes all you can eat pancakes with maple syrup, sausage, omelets, and applesauce.  The museum store will be open, where gift packages of maple syrup and apple butter can be purchased.

This event is held every Sunday from March 6 to April 3, 2011.  The March 20th date is also Buzzard Sunday in Hinckley, Ohio.  The two events are an hour drive from each other.  The events could be separate full day road trips or combined for a one day road trip on March 20th

A
14653 East Park, Burton, Ohio:
14653 E Park St, Burton, OH 44021, USA

get directions

Sundays 3/6/2011, 3/13/2011, 3/20/2011, 3/27/2011, 4/3/2011 9:00 am - 2:00 pm

B
West Drive & State Road, Hinckley, Ohio:
State Rd & West Dr, Hinckley, OH 44233, USA

get directions

Buzzard Sunday March 20, 2011 9am-2:30pm

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)