Spring is coming, it's warmer outside in the day but nights are still cold, it's maple syrup time!
Traditionally a sugar shack looked like that, my great grandfather had one similar and his family produced maple syrup for decades but times changed and with new technologies, those little shacks are now rare and mostly just for decorations. I never went to the new ones, just not the same vibe, now it looks more like family restaurants, a bit too expensive. They are trying to make something fancy with food that used to be cheap.
So let me tell you how it used to be in my neck of woods.
When I was little we were going to the sugar shack in a horse drawn sleight, there was no roads just a small path, it was usual to lose one or two kids on the way, I don't know why, each year at least one kid fell from the sleight, but there was so much snow that nobody got hurt.
First thing we were doing once there, was to inspect the buckets of maple water (now it's hoses), like on the photo. We were told not to drink the water so naturally the first thing we did was to ....drink it .....and then getting stuck on the crime scene because we're just small beans
in one meter of snow.
In the shack it was dark and steamy, also very humid, it's where they boiled the maple water several times to make, syrup, taffee and various kinds of sugars
There were also picnic tables inside were we could eat traditional dishes like pea soup, beans, ham and eggs, and fried pork rinds and people were pouring maple syrup on everything. Too much sugar for me. To be honest I was just there for the taffee which is already very sweet.
Then it was taffee time ! Maple taffee is a soft ball boiled maple syrup poured on the snow, then you take a stick or wooden spoon and roll it to a lollipop. We were told not to eat the snow, so naturaly...
Then we came back home with a belly ache because of all the snow eaten and sticky hair, because it's not really sugar shack if you don't have maple taffee in your hair and on your clothes.
Misconceptions about Canadian maple syrup :
-It's not cheaper in Canada, it cost around $8-10 a can of 500ml
-There are different grades and qualities and the taste change with the years and even within weeks in the same season
-We export our best maple syrup (how silly)
-What they sell in groceries is the worst, super low quality
-People who knows that buy it directly from their favorite sugar shack once a year, like now, but it's better to order before the season because they have limited stock. After, it's too late, you have to wait for the next year. Big producers may still have some though.
You can make your own maple taffee boiling maple syrup to 240F/116C and let it cool down (ask Google for recipe)
(photos from internet)
Traditionally a sugar shack looked like that, my great grandfather had one similar and his family produced maple syrup for decades but times changed and with new technologies, those little shacks are now rare and mostly just for decorations. I never went to the new ones, just not the same vibe, now it looks more like family restaurants, a bit too expensive. They are trying to make something fancy with food that used to be cheap.
So let me tell you how it used to be in my neck of woods.
When I was little we were going to the sugar shack in a horse drawn sleight, there was no roads just a small path, it was usual to lose one or two kids on the way, I don't know why, each year at least one kid fell from the sleight, but there was so much snow that nobody got hurt.
First thing we were doing once there, was to inspect the buckets of maple water (now it's hoses), like on the photo. We were told not to drink the water so naturally the first thing we did was to ....drink it .....and then getting stuck on the crime scene because we're just small beans
in one meter of snow.In the shack it was dark and steamy, also very humid, it's where they boiled the maple water several times to make, syrup, taffee and various kinds of sugars
There were also picnic tables inside were we could eat traditional dishes like pea soup, beans, ham and eggs, and fried pork rinds and people were pouring maple syrup on everything. Too much sugar for me. To be honest I was just there for the taffee which is already very sweet.
Then it was taffee time ! Maple taffee is a soft ball boiled maple syrup poured on the snow, then you take a stick or wooden spoon and roll it to a lollipop. We were told not to eat the snow, so naturaly...
Then we came back home with a belly ache because of all the snow eaten and sticky hair, because it's not really sugar shack if you don't have maple taffee in your hair and on your clothes.
Misconceptions about Canadian maple syrup :
-It's not cheaper in Canada, it cost around $8-10 a can of 500ml
-There are different grades and qualities and the taste change with the years and even within weeks in the same season
-We export our best maple syrup (how silly)
-What they sell in groceries is the worst, super low quality
-People who knows that buy it directly from their favorite sugar shack once a year, like now, but it's better to order before the season because they have limited stock. After, it's too late, you have to wait for the next year. Big producers may still have some though.
You can make your own maple taffee boiling maple syrup to 240F/116C and let it cool down (ask Google for recipe)
(photos from internet)
i'd go again for sure!
I really enjoyed learning from you what a sugar shack is, and about maple taffy!
