Maple sugaring season begins!
Good news for your pancakes!
Pancakes! Waffles! French toast!
All would be lonely without maple syrup.
Real maple syrup seems miraculous. This sweet, sticky, fragrantly delicious goo comes from the inside of trees? Yes, it's true. And as North Americans, we can all take pride in this native delicacy.
While New Jersey does not produce much commercial syrup from sugar maples, our parks and forests are filled with red maple trees, which also yield a workable sap. As maple sugaring season gets underway, a variety of programs have been scheduled to teach both grownups and kids about a tradition that began centuries ago with Native Americans.
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As families with young children crowded into the Great Swamp Education Center in Chatham on Jan. 17, naturalist Stephanie Queirolo spoke of the history and science behind maple syrup.
The most productive areas for maple syrup, namely Vermont and Canada, have deep, cold winters and plenty of old maple trees. A tree needs to be at least 45 years old before it has sufficient girth to be tapped, Queirolo said.
Using a stump and a hand drill, Queirolo demonstrated how a farmer taps a maple.
"You only go about 2½ inches into the tree with the drill," she said, explaining that the sap runs in the younger, outer layers of a tree's trunk. The maple is not hurt by the drilling, she added because it's a superficial wound and it can heal itself.
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"When it's freezing at night and 45 degrees in the day," Queirolo said, "you can fill a gallon container with running sap in a day."
But getting the sap is only half the battle. Sap runs like clear water, without the stickiness and brown color we associate with maple syrup. That texture and hue result from the reduction of the sap into syrup. And that process requires a lot of sap.
"With one gallon of sap, you can make 2 ounces of maple syrup," Queirolo said. "You need 40 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup."
Hence, the expense of real maple syrup, as compared to commercial "pancake syrups," which are made with high-fructose corn syrup and very little maple, if any.
As the adults in attendance gained a new respect for maple trees, many of the little ones grew fidgety. When Queirolo led the group outside to see real maples in action, children flew out of the room like sparrows and began to frolic around the trees, kicking up crunchy leaves and catching flurries of snowflakes on their mittens.
Then everyone noticed the steamy cloud rising from the wood-fired evaporator, where park volunteers Bob Weingaertner and Monty Montague were keeping watch. The group gathered around to watch the demonstration, before heading back into the nature center for a taste test.
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The program offered three unlabeled syrups to taste: a commercially available maple syrup, a maple-flavored pancake syrup, and maple syrup made at Great Swamp. Guests dipped wooden sampling sticks into the cups of syrup, chose their favorite and then discovered which was which.
"My guess was correct," said Alexander Lee, 9, of Hoboken.
"I was surprised, but I found out I liked the real maple syrup the most," said Alexander Yang, 8, of Livingston, who came to the program with his brother Wesley, 7.
Revealing which cup held which syrup would ruin the fun for other maple fans, but it's safe to say that many visitors to Great Swamp left the park with a new appreciation for maple syrup and maple trees.
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Whether you seek a day trip to Pennsylvania or you want to stay local, there is no shortage of maplelicious opportunities during sugaring season.
Here are some places where you can learn more about maple sugaring:
Jan. 30, 31 and Feb. 6, 13, 14, 20, 21, 27, 28: Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center, 247 Southern Blvd., Chatham Twp. Program runs from 2 to 3 p.m. on all dates except Feb. 27 and 28, when there will be two sessions at 1 and 2:30 p.m. Learn how to identify and tap maple trees and to collect sap. Watch how sap is made into syrup over a wood-fired evaporator. Taste three different syrups, including one made at Great Swamp. 973-635-6629 or morrisparks.net.
Feb. 6, 20, 27: Howell Living History Farm, 17 Valley Road, Lambertville. On Feb. 6, a tree-tapping program will allow visitors to help tap maples, hang sap buckets and cut firewood for making maple syrup. On Feb. 20 and 27, a maple sugaring program will encompass sap collection, firewood-cutting, syrup-making, butter-making, flour-milling and pancake-eating! Admission is free. 609-737-3299 or howellfarm.org.
Feb. 7: Tenafly Nature Center, 313 Hudson Ave., Tenafly. Two programs are scheduled: 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. and 2 to 3 p.m., with a nature walk available after the later session. See a tapped tree, and watch as sap gets boiled down to syrup. $10. 201-568-6093 or tenaflynaturecenter.org.
Feb. 20: Silver Lake Nature Center, 1306 Bath Road, Bristol, Pennsylvania. Program runs from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Learn the history and process of maple sugaring. Sample local goods or purchase maple syrup from a local farm. Admission is $6. 215-785-1177 or silverlakenaturecenter.org.
Feb. 20, 21, 27, 28 and March 5, 6, 12, 13: Environmental Education Center, 190 Lord Stirling Road, Basking Ridge. The 90-minute program is offered Saturdays at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m., and Sundays at noon and 2 p.m. Arrive 20 to 30 minutes before start time. Program includes a half-mile hike. $1 donation per person. 908-766-2489, ext. 332. somersetcountyparks.org.
Feb. 27: Maple Syrup Festival, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Peace Valley Nature Center, 170 North Chapman Road, Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Visit the nature center and join naturalists on walks to the “sugar bush” to hear about how the collection of sap is turned into maple syrup. Visitors can help collect sap and then head back to the fire to watch the sap cook down. Waffles with syrup will be available for purchase! Admission is free. This is a rain-or-shine event. 215-345-7860 or peacevalleynaturecenter.org.
Feb. 27, 28: "Sap To Syrup," Huber Woods Environmental Center, 25 Browns Dock Road, Locust section of Middletown. The program will be offered both days from 10 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 3 p.m. Program includes a syrup taste test, a tree-tapping demonstration and a lesson in winter tree identification. Wear sturdy shoes or boots. $12. 732-872-2670 or monmouthcountyparks.com.
March 5: Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed, 31 Titus Mill Road, Pennington. Two sessions of "Maple Sugaring Brunch and Hike," from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. or 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Hike to tapped trees, see the evaporation station, then enjoy pancakes! $20, or $12 for ages 3 to 13. 609-737-3735 or thewatershed.org.
March 5: Maple Sugar Festival, noon to 4 p.m., Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center, 247 Southern Blvd., Chatham Townnship. Great Swamp wraps up syrup season with a festival that features hikes, games, crafts, maple snow cones and syrup tastings. Admission is $4 for ages 3 and up. 973-635-6629 or morrisparks.net.
March 5, 6, 12, 13: Washington Crossing State Park, 355 Washington Crossing-Pennington Road, Titusville. A participatory demonstration on maple sugaring. Program runs from 1 to 2:30 p.m. on March 5 and 12, and from 1:30 to 3 p.m. March 6 and 13. Admission is free, but advance registration is required. 609-737-0623 or 609-737-0609. state.nj.us.
March 6: Reeves-Reed Arboretum, 165 Hobart Ave., Summit. Program runs from 1 to 4 p.m. and includes a scavenger hunt. $5 per person. 908-273-8787 or reeves-reedarboretum.org.
March 13: Churchville Nature Center, 501 Churchville Lane, Churchville, Pennsylvania. Interpretive stations explain the steps taken to collect sap and turn it into syrup. Program begins at 1 p.m., rain or shine. $5, $3 for children. 215-357-4005 or churchvillenaturecenter.org.