It's one of my favorite times of the
year in Vermont. Driving around this past week, I saw sugar shack
after sugar shack with steam billowing out. . .the sign that they are
boiling sap, and fresh pure Vermont maple syrup is being made! Makes
me wish I had some on hand right now – but I'll have to wait until
this season's is for sale! There's signs up for Sugar on Snow
weekends too! For my readers that are not lucky enough to live in
Vermont – Sugar on Snow is when boiling syrup is poured on top of
fresh snow or crushed ice – and forms a chewy, taffy like treat.
It's delicious!! My personal favorite maple treat is maple cotton
candy. Yes, just like the cotton candy you get at the fair, but made
with maple sugar. It's amazing!
It takes a lot of time and effort to
make maple syrup. Forty gallons of sap must be boiled down in order
to make one gallon of syrup. The sap flows when the temperatures are
below freezing at night and above during the day.
The sap from maple trees is also used
for making beverages – watch for more about that in a future
Rhinestone Kitchen post.
Support your local sugar makers and
enjoy some of Vermont's signature product!
