Sugaring Off party (ending section)

They had 2 “evaporators” which do the boiling of the sap, creating the syrup. (The big joke in the North Country is that there are those who would like to make their own syrup, which is fine, but they do the boiling in their kitchen. The next day all the wallpaper is on the floor! (Remember the 40-1 gallon equation. There’s a LOT of steam generated by this process.) One of the evaporators essentially heats the sap for the next evaporator, which does the bulk of the work. They only use both evaporators when the sap is REALLY running. When we were here, only one was functioning.
In order to get the hot, quick fire they need to boil that sap, soft wood is used to burn. That’s wonderful, because no one else wants that wood for his or her fireplaces. So they get all the cast off wood from “blow-downs” and just junk wood to burn. People are happy to give them wood. Rarely do they need to actually buy it. Not a bad deal, eh?
The maple syrup is graded on the spot and bottled. Next step will be for us to buy it and pour it on our pancakes and waffles. I’m already looking forward to next year’s “Sugaring-Off” Party!
So, there you have it! New England may be gorgeous in the autumn, but the sheer delight of a “sugaring-off” party surely warrants a late winter visit here as well!
I hope you learned something new. I surely did!