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Early January Winter 2015 Update
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The
winter solstice has passed, days are getting longer, and the sun’s rays
are warmer. The New Year is here! We are excited – this will be the
40th Anniversary Season for Mapletree Farm. We are Concord’s only
continuously operating maple sugarhouse. Yes we will be celebrating
during our Annual Open House on Maple Weekend March 28th and 29th.
Please mark your calendar. We hope that you will join us for the
festivities.
2014 was another good year for Mapletree Farm. The season was on the
scant side of average but the maple syrup flavor and quality was above
average. I recall one boil of dark amber syrup that had unforgettable
and remarkable maple flavor. It was just outstanding. That syrup proved
to many customers that flavor is far more important than color in maple
syrup. I’ll bet you can guess what we saved for our table syrup.
The wet heavy snowfall on Thanksgiving Day was hard on our maple trees.
Our planted maple orchard beyond the sugarhouse suffered significant
damage. Many of the large limbs were broken and are now hanging or
lying on the ground. We cannot cut or trim those damaged limbs now, as
any fresh cuts will leak a significant amount of sap, weakening the
trees. We will trim off those broken limbs in August when all sap flow
has ceased. This season those damaged trees will rest and not be
tapped. Our dense woods trees fared much better although broken limbs
from nearby pine trees took down many of our lines. We have been
working in the woods to clear blown down limbs and to restore sap
lines. Sap lines must be straight, tight, and downhill for good
efficient sap flow.
The New Hampshire Legislature has adopted the new maple syrup grading
standards proposed by the International Maple Syrup Institute (IMSI).
Our last update mentioned that this grade change was coming. New
Hampshire producers will have a year to transition to the new
standards. Vermont made the change to the new standards last year. Our
2015 maple syrup will bear the new grade standards. The old grades will
not be used. You will see four new color and flavor descriptors this
year: Grade A Golden Delicate Taste; Grade A Amber Rich Taste; Grade A
Dark Robust Taste; and Grade A Very Dark Strong Taste on our maple
syrup. Detailed descriptors are listed in the Products Section of this
Website.
In addition to color and taste sensation, there is another important
part of the Grade Standard change and that is density. The new minimum
density will be 66% Brix. We have always used 66.9% Brix as our density
requirement. You will definitely sense by taste the lower density; 0.9%
less density will taste much weaker and thinner. We will continue to
use 66.9%
as the density of our syrup even though we could produce and sell more
of the thinner syrup. Don’t hesitate to call or email us should you
have questions about the new Grade Standard.
The broken limbs and storm damaged maples remind us of a frequently
asked question: when does sap flow? We know that the maple season is
usually from late February until early April in our area, but sap will
flow other months as well. Sap has been flowing from those damaged
trees every day that the temperature has been above freezing, when
preceded by below freezing temperatures the night before. So, sap will
flow in October, November, December, and January when there is the
proper temperature range. Experimentation has shown that sap has low
sugar content during those months and the temperature range is not
conducive to consistent sap flow. Until climate change forces us to do
otherwise, we will continue to tap in late February and be content with
the sap that Mother Nature provides
We are looking forward to the season and hope to see you then. Please
mark your calendar for our 40th Anniversary Open House on Maple Weekend
on March 28th & 29th. We always appreciate your interest in
Mapletree Farm.
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Welcome
to Mapletree Farm. In 2015 we will be celebrating our 40th year of
producing quality NH-made maple from our sugarhouse in East Concord,
New Hampshire. Making maple syrup is a craft requiring skill, knowledge
and an eye for perfection. Combining practices passed down through the
generations with the latest technology available allows us to make
exceptional maple products, with a difference that you can taste.
Maple makes a great gift. We ship our products all over the world, and
will be happy to work with you on your order whether you are interested
in a gift for yourself, a loved one, or for unique corporate promotions.
We hope you come by and visit us during sugaring season to see our
operation and our maple products. You can also check out our products
page to see the variety of authentic maple products available.
Sincerely,
Meg and Dean Wilber
This year's Open House will be on March 28 and 29, 2015.
10 am to 4 pm both days.
Come and celebrate our 40th season!
Visit Concord's best-kept maple secret! You'll be able to:
- Try samples
of syrup, coated nuts, sugar on snow and maple cream
- See
the sugar house in operation
- Learn how syrup
is made!
- Watch the sap
flow through hundreds of feet of tubing
- Take
a self-guided walking tour of the orchard and woodland
- Stock
up on maple products
Fun
for the whole family!
Click here
for directions!
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