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Another Sugar Shack

March 11, 2014 Click for a closeup.  On the way to the next sugar shack, The Blog Tech made a friend, we named him Walter. Goosebumps, we spotted another one! Sorry to say this is the only photo we got of a food area.  But seriously, each and every one of the sugar shacks put out huge spreads.  The plaid tablecloth is covering a table groaning with maple treats.  This woman baked about 8 different kinds of cookies along with 4 dips and maple mustard.  All for free.  Amazing. On the corner table, they had their maple products for sale.  I bought a lot of stuff from this shack which I will show later. This family had 6 very well behaved children who were very eager to answer questions and show us around. The syrup was boiling when we arrived. They were well prepared for weeks of sugaring off. We took off in search of the next shack and passed this gorgeous barn. And then we spied these guys down the road. And a rare white one that looks like she is about to be pooped on. Beautiful farms everywhere. And covered bridges. At the next shack we got to see sap flowing into the buckets. All of the shacks bought their equipment from Canada.  Interestingly, all of the shacks told us they sell their extra syrup to Canada and Vermont.  So, if you buy genuine Canadian or Vermont maple syrup, it might actually come from this area. The machine in the back room on the right is a reverse osmosis machine which removes 75% of the water from the sap before boiling.  What this means is that instead of needing 50 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup, it now takes only 5 gallons of sap (once it goes through this machine) to make 1 gallon of syrup. The shacks are able to produce much more syrup in much less time once they implement this machine. Here is the hot syrup coming out of the tank. And here, the very nice sugar shack guy shows us the difference in grades. He also showed us how he uses the hygrometer.  Back tomorrow with more sugaring off.
sugaring off winter 2014 Laurie M said…
what beautiful country, I really like the covered bridges, I like Amber syrup best, yummo!!
March 11, 2014 at 5:20 AM jody said…
Wow what a great outting! Beautiful countryside, barns, bridges and yum maple syrup and all the goodies! I know id probably buy lots too! Glad you enjoyed!!
March 11, 2014 at 5:25 AM What a wonderful way to spend the day. I like Walter and those buffalo are sweet, especially the white one. I never knew so much about sugaring.
March 11, 2014 at 6:45 AM Joyce F said…
Enjoying your posts about the maple syrup process and the sugar shacks. Lots of hard work goes into it! Beautiful country there.
March 11, 2014 at 10:49 AM thecottagebythecranelaketwo said…
That barn look just amazing!

I remember osmosis from highschool chemistry lessons and it's fascinating. What a great thing to use when making maple syrup!

They are talking about having the European Bison, the wisent, walking free in our forests. I'm not sure I like that it's enough with a big moose walking out in front of the car :-)

March 11, 2014 at 11:05 AM Patty Woodland said…
Bison is becoming a very popular meat; it's low in fat and really tastes a lot like beef. A lot of ranchers are running them here.
March 11, 2014 at 11:10 AM Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said…
Cannot wait to see what you bought. What a gorgeous area to drive through. Didn't you say you were some distance from this area..like a few hours or so? I should go back and check because I know you live nearly in, or IN, the lap of a big city.
You are going to be loaded down with goodies...and certainly not hungry when you get home. Blog Tech must be in his glory with all that goodness to sample! :):)
March 11, 2014 at 2:00 PM Nellie said…
Our Country Couple would really enjoy this trip!
March 11, 2014 at 2:56 PM Guillaume said…
Great pictures! And I really want to visit a real sugar shack.
March 11, 2014 at 3:47 PM Dog Trot Farm said…
I can't to see what's coming home with you...I hope there will be maple recipes coming our way...The last Sunday in March is always Maine Maple Sunday... sugar shacks are open to the public, such a fun day with lots of yummy treats to sample and buy...Sending hugs from Maine, Julie...
March 11, 2014 at 6:10 PM Barb said…
I have really enjoyed the posts about the sugaring!!
March 11, 2014 at 6:21 PM Danni said…
Ha, ha...I love Walter.
And your comment about the poor rare white one CRACKED me up! :-)
March 11, 2014 at 10:14 PM sandra hagan said…
These are fun posts for me, tagging along to the Sugar Shacks! I love the boiling syrup! It is quite a process.

Walter is a hoot. Sitting down he must been cold.

Free is good. They are confident these little gifts will capture you to purchase more. Great PR when you have the good product.

Have fun and thanks for sharing.
March 12, 2014 at 1:24 PM Mantan Calaveras said…
I want hot syrup.
March 13, 2014 at 12:59 AM luckybunny said…
Walters cute! Really enjoying these posts! :) How fun!
April 2, 2014 at 1:22 PM Lit'l Smokies Refrigerator Cucumber Salad

Throw in 2 cups of ice cubes and let them melt.

Pack them tightly in a jar.

We got a little more snow last night.

Teddy tracks.

Snow on her water bowl. Garden Totem Tutorial

I always look for sturdy heavily de…