Maple Syrup Making

1/27/14

One of the neatest things my father in law taught me was how to tap a maple tree and make maple syrup.  It takes time, patience and the love of the outdoors.  It’s not hard to do.  Basically you tap several maple trees, put a hose in the taps running to a bucket, gather the sap, pour into a cooker, once you have enough sap put a fire under the sap and boil it down.  As it boils down, remove from the heat and continue reducing the syrup until you get the thickness you like.  Then pour into maple syrup bottles and enjoy!  Yes, the above is quite simplified and if you are interested in really learning how to make maple syrup, I suggest participating in this upcoming event.

An international program on maple syrup techniques will be held on Thursday, Feb. 6, at the Florence Natural Resource and Wild Rivers Interpretive Center. The panel of experts includes Fred Hedmark and Ernie D’Agastino. They are maple syrup pro-ducers of varying production, so the meeting will have all levels of production present from small to very big. Both men have been making maple syrup their whole lives and are vastly knowledgeable in its production. Hedmark’s Maple Ridge, which is a maple supplies dealer, will also have maple equipment and supplies on display and for sale. This pro-gram should be of interest to those considering making maple syrup, those who want to compare experiences and techniques and those curious about the process of obtaining this tasty product The program will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. in the lower level conference room at the Florence Natural Resource and Wild Rivers Interpretive Center, located on the corner of U.S. 2 and Highway 101/70 in Florence. The Environmental Stew-ardship Program Series is put on by the Friends of the Wild Rivers Interpretive Center and are open to the public free of charge. For more information on this or any Interpretive Center programs, contact Lori Moore at 715-528-5377

~ It’s a beautiful day in the Northwoods
Iron County Lodging Association

Events.