We hadn’t seen it before. On a recent drive through the French region of the island, we spotted a man working at the taps on his maple trees. My husband and I stopped there on the way home to take some photos. By this time, the man was gone so we couldn’t ask any questions.
Prince Edward Island doesn’t have many huge stands of maples. There are only four producers listed for the island this year, producing about 10% of the maple syrup used here.
However there are a number of small family maple syrup operations such as the one we saw. We were interested to see the taps collecting the maple sap. There were a number of trees around the property with active taps that day. The trees in front of the house had four taps, one on the back side of a trunk.
We will look for some of the island’s maple products this year.
The old way of collecting sap in shiny new buckets.
ReplyDeleteNo modern methods there AC. It works though.
DeleteHow interesting. Too bad he took off.
ReplyDeleteI would have loved to speak with him Linda.
DeleteI love maple syrup and will allow myself to have a little when I can find some really good stuff. I hope you'll post about what you find. :-)
ReplyDeleteI will visit a store which carries local product Jan. Photos to follow.
DeleteYum! Now I want pancakes.
ReplyDeleteLove maple syrup in a variety of recipes. A pinch in salad dressing is delicious.
DeleteVery interesting. Too bad you did not get to talk to the man.
ReplyDeleteI know. Maybe another time Mildred.
DeleteOh yum. Hard to find the real deal here sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI don’t like manufactured syrups.
DeleteMaple syrup production is full bore here, and the warm days and freezing nights are perfect conditions. We have big producers whose taps empty into hoses that empty into a collecting tank. And, we have family stands that have old milk jugs under the taps. I love seeing it.
ReplyDeleteI’d love to see one of those modern productions, Joanne.
Deleteoh how interesting. i have maple trees, i am going to google this and read about the details!!
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could tap your trees, Debbie?
DeleteI always assumed you only did one tap at a time. Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t have any idea how many taps a tree could have Barbara.
DeleteI use to have some friends in Vermont who used to tap in to their maple trees. The maple syrup was great on french toast. Now I want some. :)
ReplyDeleteIt is yummy on French toast Bill.
DeleteHow fascinating. I really look forward to learning more - and hope that the gentleman isn't so quick to disappear next time you head out that way.
ReplyDeleteIt is a short season EC. I hope to find some of the local product.
DeleteMaple season is in full swing here in our area as well. I love seeing the buckets hanging on the trees.
ReplyDeleteBlessings~
It is a sure sign of spring, AJC.
DeleteThat would be pretty neat if you ended up being able to buy some of the maple syrup from the place you saw.
ReplyDeleteThis place was a small family production from what I could see, Danielle.
DeleteMy grandparents lived in Brattleboro, Vermont and they always tapped their trees and made their own maple syrup. The room where they boiled the sap was connected to their kitchen and was also my Granddfather's shop where he made furniture. I will never forget the wonderful smell of sawdust and maple and have never experienced it in any other place. Thanks for reminding me of that.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great memory Ginnie. Thank you for sharing!
DeleteI use maple syrup quite a bit but it is not cheap here. Cheers Diane
ReplyDeleteMaple syrup is not cheap here but cheaper than it is there I imagine Diane.
DeleteThat's cool. I saw some on my walk yesterday!
ReplyDeleteI’d never seen tapping before, Karen. I never saw it in Newfoundland but I know it’s done there too.
DeleteWe see a lot of it here this time of year. As long as the nights go below freezing and the days are a few degrees above, the sap will run.
ReplyDeleteIt’s been perfect conditions here the last week or so William.
Deletehow cool!!!
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed, SW.
DeleteHow neat to come across this scene close enough to the road to photograph it. I tend to picture tapping being done in the middle of nowhere!
ReplyDeleteIt was in front of the family home, Jenny., not my idea of the setting either. Great to be able to see it though.
DeleteInteresting! I wonder how different it tastes fresh out of the tree?
ReplyDeleteI wonder what the sap tastes like too, Jenn.
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