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Maple Sugar time at Genesee Country Nature Center
The cold nights and slightly warmer days of late winter and the approaching spring means its maple sugar time in Mumford at Genesee Country Nature Center and throughout the northeast. The Nature Center hosted Sap, Syrup and Sugar last weekend, an annual event that features hands-on tapping of the maple trees, a 19th century boiling down demonstration, numerous crafts and activities for youngsters and best of all – tasting at the pancake and maple syrup breakfast! Linda Bender, the Nature Center’s director, coordinated the weekend events. Tours into the woods take place every half hour to see the actual tree tapping and sap collection. Dean Kingsbury, one of the Nature Center volunteers, explained the history of maple sugaring and why it is indigenous to the northeast. First, in order for the sap to run from the maple tree, it needs the "freeze-thaw" weather that occurs here in late winter and early spring. The maple-sugaring season is generally over by mid April when the night temperatures no longer dip below freezing. For now, the cold nights and the sunny, above freezing temperatures of the longer days really get the sap flowing. The tapping process starts with drilling a one and half to two-inch hole at an angle into the tree and inserting a spile (small spout). A 19th century spile may have been fashioned out of a sumac tree branch; the pail or bucket that is hung under it would most likely have been made from the bark of a birch tree. The tapping generally was done on the south side of the tree, the side most likely to be warmed by the day’s sun. In the 19th century, the sap would be collected and transported by placing a yoke across one’s shoulders and hanging a pail on either side. It would be carried to a large pot over an open fire and boiled until about half of it was evaporated. The remainder of the sap would be transferred into another large pot and cooked even more until it formed thread-like strands when drained from the wood stir paddle. The cooked sap would be strained through cheesecloth to remove any impurities such as bugs or small pieces of bark. The sap would be brought back to the hot fire one more time where an egg would be dropped into the hot mixture to clarify it even further. (Somehow the egg being dropped in the hot sap would draw out any remaining impurities). The resulting sugar would then be stored in molds. Native Americans perfected the process of maple sugaring and lent their expertise to the early European settlers in this region.
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