For The Love Of Sticky Sweet Goodness

Roam around Connecticut in February and March and you are likely to find an assortment of buckets hanging from the trees. From traditional metal buckets to ingenious New Englander-style homemade contraptions, these are signs that maple sugaring season is well underway.

In Connecticut, maple sugaring season typically runs from early February through late March. Like any other "season" in New England, it is dependent upon the local weather. Freezing nights, in conjunction  with those warm sunny days of early spring, are the secret to sweet success. The season may last only a couple days or can go as long as a couple months.

As I understand it, the colorless sap of the maple tree unfreezes from its winter thaw and begins its journey throughout the tree to help promote growth for the coming spring. Maple syrup producers collect the light and vaguely sweet sap on its journey through the tree by means of a series of taps, tubing, and buckets. The sap is then boiled in a sugarhouse to create maple syrup.

This syrup is the "real deal," one hundred percent natural sweetness with none of that added "stuff."

Some Fun Maple Facts:

• Connecticut is one of the smallest states in the country, yet is considered to be one of the leading producers of 100 percent Pure Maple Syrup. 
• To be tapped, the tree needs to be a minimum of 10 inches in diameter.
• Native Americans are accredited with being the first to tap trees and passed their knowledge along to early European settlers.
• It takes about forty gallons of boiled sap to equal one gallon of syrup. 
• The most common maple trees used for sugaring include the sugar maple, the red maple, and the black maple.
• Maple sap in its original form is nearly clear and not very sweet. Sap needs to be boiled to create its rich sticky sweetness.
• A tree should ideally be at least 30 years old before tapping.
• There are a variety of maple grades including Light Amber or Fancy Grade, Medium Amber, and Dark Amber. As the names indicate, the grade reflects the deepness of the color and the strength of its maple flavor. Light Amber has a mild maple taste and is made early in the sugaring season. Medium Amber is created mid-season and has a stronger maple flavor and darker color. Dark Amber is the darkest in color and has the strongest flavor.

Throughout the sugaring season in Connecticut, there are a host of demonstrations and fairs around the state. The Hebron Maple Festival, for example, takes place annually the second weekend of March and is the largest and most well-known. The Mashantucket Pequot Museum also holds demonstrations during the season. Local sugarhouses are open to the public during the season for demonstrations, tours, tastings, and to purchase maple-related goodies. Some remain open year-round and sell their maple syrup, maple sugar candies, and other sweet treats.

As the sugaring season is nearing its end, you can still enjoy the local flavors of sugaring season at any of the below listed  fine purveyors. Locally made maple syrup can also be found at specialty shops and farm markets throughout the state.

Excuse me while I locate my bottle of Connecticut Dark Amber Pure Maple Syrup to drown my stack of homemade buttermilk pancakes in. Ahhhhh, the things I do for the love of sticky sweet goodness.

• Fabyan Sugar Shack at 384 Fabyan Rd. in North Grosvenordale. Phone: 860-935-9281.
• Hope Valley Sugarhouse at 192 Hope Valley Rd. in Hebron. Phone: 860-228-9317 Website: www.hopevalleysugarhouse.com.
• Lamothe's Sugar House at 89 Stone Rd. in Burlington. Phone: 860-675-5043 Website: www.lamothesugarhouse.com 
• Oweneco Farms Sugar Shack at 2067 Exeter Rd. (Route 207) in Lebanon. Phone: 860-642-7364.
• River's Edge Sugar House at 326 Mansfield Rd. (Rt. 89) in Ashford. Phone: 860-429-1510 Website: www.riversedgesugarhouse.com. 
• Sweet Wind Farm Sugarhouse and Farmstand at 339 South Rd., East Hartland. Phone: 860-653-2038 Website: www.sweetwindfarm.net.
• Weil Farms in North Stonington, CT. Website: www.weilfarms.com
• Wenzel's Sugar House in Hebron. For information, contact 860-649-0841 or visit www.intelab.com/wenzel/.

For additional information on Connecticut Maple Syrup and a complete list of sugarhouses open to the public, visit ctmaple.org.