Laurie Snider
Notes from the Nest
Imagine a trio of teacup-sized pancakes, perfectly round, golden brown, with a generous dollop of butter, melting down the sides. To top off this delectable triad of delightful sustenance, nothing could be finer, than a charitable drizzle, of the sweetened nectar from the maple tree. It happens to be the height of the harvest, right now, as spring, ever so slowly, tippy toes towards our doorsteps.
This is why, last weekend Randy and I found ourselves, along with several hundred others, milling about in a sugar bush, about five minutes west of the charming village of Warkworth.
This was their 32nd annual Maple Syrup Festival and the word was out. Over the course of the weekend, over 6,000 people were expected to attend. I believe about 5,998, were there at the same time as we were, making our wait for our allotted stack with its treacle of maple somewhat prolonged and agonizing.
Thankfully, it was well worth the wait! The sticky, sweet spirit, recently collected from the nearby trees, poured over the soft, fluffy cakes was every bit as sublime as one might have imagined. With our ravenousness appeased and our bellies now full, we were off to explore the sugary forest.
The Indigenous peoples of North America were enjoying the liquid fruits of maple trees, long before European settlers ever arrived. The Handenosaunee, Abenaki, and Mi’kmaq had discovered that by piercing the bark of trees, the sap, which they called sweetwater, could be used to cook and cure meat. This preserved it, giving them food to eat over the winter months.
The Anishinaabe, referred to the time of year when the sap was collected as, the “sugaring off” period, or during the maple moon. Willow or basswood tubes were inserted into the trees and the resulting fluid was captured into birch bark bowls. The water was either cooked off by adding hot rocks to the bowl or boiled over a fire.
By the late 1700s or early 1800s, the Indigenous people had taught the earliest settlers how to obtain the sap, from the trees and produce it into syrup or sugar slabs. These early pioneers would collect it into hollowed out logs and boil it off in sugar shacks, using large kettles.
Now, even the familiar metal pots we would see hanging from trees as children have been replaced by state-of-the-art vacuum tubing systems. This was the very method we saw demonstrated, as we toured the bush on a horse-drawn wagon. The sap is gathered into one central location, where it’s placed in enormous evaporators, where the sap distills, into that gorgeous, amber liquid.
Maple syrup, is a huge industry for Canada. We’re the world’s largest supplier, by far. In 2016, we exported 45 million kilograms of the stuff, at a value of $381 million Cdn. The majority of that came from Quebec, which produces 92 per cent of it. Comparatively, Ontario only contributes, a measly three percent.
According to puremaplefromcanada.com, there are many environmental benefits to eating this tasty, sugary extract as well. There are at least 53 million, untapped maple trees, in the forests of Quebec. This offsets carbon emissions, the equivalent of 770,000 cars. Woweee! There’s a caveat, however. The trees currently used for production are protected by the government. The others are not. Thus, there’s the risk of losing both the economic, as well as the environmental interests. They suggest that if only one person, per household, would substitute one teaspoon of maple sugar or syrup daily, in place of other sweeteners, two new trees would go into production and be protected. OK, I’m convinced!
A maple tree is about 40 years old before it’s big enough to tap. During the season, maple trees release only about seven per cent of their sap and no long-term damage is done to the trees. They can be tapped over and over. Many, are over 100 years old. The old holes heal over and the following spring, new spots are chosen.
The perfect weather for the sap to flow is during warmer days, above zero degrees, followed by the temperature dropping below zero, again at night, in March and April. However, scientists are increasingly concerned our beloved syrup could succumb to climate change, causing it to go extinct. Warmer, dryer growing seasons, stunt trees growth and decrease sap production. So, if you needed another reason to turn off the lights and not idle your cars, perhaps this is it!
Luckily for us, conditions this year were perfect and the sap was running briskly. We savoured our time together, enjoying a truly Canadian excursion, mucking about in the woods, celebrating part of our national identity, with one of the sweeter things in life!