Check out Sugaring Off Sundays all around upstate New York! This is a celebration of the process, called sugaring off, by which raw sap from maple trees is turned into the delicious syrup we know and love on our pancakes.
Did you know it takes 40 gallons of sap to produce just one gallon of maple syrup? In fact, 40 is a handy number to remember when it comes to maple syrup.
Maple trees need to get to be years old before they are tapped. (There is an extensive article on maple syrup on Wikipedia.)
One of the advantages of checking out maple syrup production in New York is that if you tour the producing regions, like Otsego County, during March, the weather is often milder than in other areas like Vermont and Quebec.
One of the best events is the Sugaring Off Sundays at the Farmer’s Museum in Cooperstown. Here are this year’s dates:
- March 1, 2009
- March 8, 2009
- March 15, 2009
- March 22, 2009
There is a great pancake breakfast served from 8:30 am – 1:00 pm and the maple-sugaring activities run from 9 am-2 pm. Todd’s General Store and The Farmers’ Museum Shop are also open from 9 am-2 pm. Reservations are not required. (Price $7 for adults and $3 for children 6-12, 5 & under free.)
Contact info for Famer’s Museum:
5775 State Hwy 80, Lake Road
Cooperstown, New York 13326 US
info@nysha.org or (607) 547-1450
Sugaring Off Sundays is sponsored in part by Otsego County Maple Producers including Roseboom’s own Stannard Farm. And Stannard’s is the syrup I have every day, usually on my cereal.I’m a big believer in the health benefits of maple syrup which is a good source of zinc and manganese, important for heart health, immune system, and male health, as described in this article.
The Roseboom Blog 