March-April 2002

Going With the Flow

By Deborah Geigis Berry

Vermont maple sugarmakers help Cub Scouts experience the centuries-old process that turns watery sap to savory syrup.

• Tapping Into Fun

Friday night, a storm blankets the central Vermont town of Barre with 16 inches of snow. But the last Saturday in March dawns crisp and clear, with snow spread around a grove of maple trees like a downy white comforter. Boots crunching in the snow punctuate the frosty air as members of Barre Town's Cub Scout Pack 717 gather round a tree with a thick trunk.

In these woods, where trees long outlive those who plant them, the world of GameBoys, DVD players, and computers is easily forgotten. The pack's visit to a maple farm has been postponed for weeks due to stormy weather, but now the Cub Scouts are preparing to take part in a traditional Vermont rite of spring.

40 gallons of sap

"Anybody want to try drilling the old-fashioned way?" asks Rick Sanborn of Bluebird Ridge Tree Farm, whose maple grove stands on a 1,500-foot-high ridge with panoramic views of the state's gentle peaks.

Sanborn helps Augustus Dawson, 10, position a hand drill in the trunk of a century-old tree. As the Cub Scout turns the drill, a clear, watery sap runs from the hole.

"Now, push in the spigot," Sanborn says. Augustus wiggles the tap into the tree and hangs a metal bucket beneath it to catch every precious drop.

"It takes 40 gallons of sap to make just one gallon of syrup," Sanborn tells the red-cheeked boys.

Two more Cub Scouts install taps in the same tree. Then the boys, adult leaders, parents, siblings, and friends trudge waist-deep in snow to a second maple.

Sanborn produces a power drill with a titanium bit. "This is the new way to tap trees," he announces as he guides the drill through the bark. Within seconds, sap starts running.

"I wish I could have done it that way," laments Augustus, rubbing his cranking arm.

"But the old way's more fun," counters Sanborn with a smile.

The affable sugarmaker then asks if any of his young helpers want to taste the sap. Encouraged by cheers, Corey Day, 11, crouches under the tap and opens his mouth wide.

"What's it like?" someone shouts.

"It's like water," Corey says, licking his lips. "Just a little sweeter." After a few other boys, including Mark Sabens and Michael Reno, sample Mother Nature's drinking fountain, Sanborn holds up a finger in the crisp, quiet air, summoning silence.

"Hear that?" Ping, ping, ping. The sound of sap dripping into metal buckets fills the serene woods like a hopeful drumbeat. It means red-breasted robins, fields full of wildflowers, and rushing streams should emerge in the next few weeks.

Making the grade

Little has changed about the time-honored Native American custom of harvesting syrup from hearty maples. Mother Nature is still the arbiter of when the sugaring season begins and how long it lasts.

For the sap to run, a string of freezing nights followed by warm days is key. No one knows when, or for how long, those conditions will occur; sugarmakers literally must go with the flow. In 2000, Sanborn wrapped up the sugaring operation on March 22. In 2001, the action didn't start until March 25; and when Pack 717 arrives, the season is just six days old.

During their three-hour visit, the Cub Scouts learn that the metamorphosis from watery sap to savory syrup takes place in the sugarhouse, a short walk from the maple grove.

As the boys follow Sanborn through the wintry landscape, they learn that sugar production is an intense time, with little sleep for the sugarmaker and his crew. After tapping the trees, the team has to rush the sap to the sugarhouse to begin the boiling process.

The source of syrup

The Cub Scouts crowd into the sugarhouse, where icicles hang from outside windows. "I didn't know syrup came from trees," admits Matthew Dawson, 9. "I thought it came from a machine."

A machine does play a major role in the process, however. The boys encircle an oil-fired evaporator that features twisted tubes, pressure valves, and partitioned trays. It starts heating the sap, and sweet steam soon rises toward an opening in the roof.

"All it takes is heat to make syrup," Sanborn explains, as the sap starts flowing through the trays. "If it says 'pure Vermont syrup' on the bottle, that's all it contains—100 percent pure syrup, no coloring or additives."

Vermont is America's top maple syrup producer, making 275,000-plus gallons in 2001. But even though hundreds of sugarmakers operate in the rolling hills of the Green Mountain State, most of the Cub Scouts have never seen the process.

"Unless you grow up on a farm, you're often not familiar with sugaring," says Cubmaster Stuart Guy, whose boyhood memories include watching his grandmother boil sap on her stove.

"We live in a more urban society," echoes Sanborn. "Most Vermont kids haven't even had sugar-on-snow [a taste treat the Cub Scouts will sample at day's end]."

Sweet rewards

While the sap boils for an hour, the boys play outside in the snow. Then Sanborn calls them together.

"Can someone tell me what grade this is?" he asks, holding up a bottle of fresh-made syrup in the sunlight.

The boys compare the bottle's contents to samples of fancy (the lightest syrup), Grade A medium, Grade A dark, and Grade B (the darkest). "Looks 'fancy' to me," concludes Corey Day's pal Anthony Sweet, 11.

Finally, it's time for the Cub Scouts to earn their sweet rewards.

"I need you to fill these with snow and level off the tops," says Shirley Reno, the pack's committee chairman, as she hands her crew rectangular aluminum pans.

In the meantime, Sanborn heats some fresh-boiled syrup on the stove until it thickens into a caramel-like consistency. He then takes it outdoors for an impromptu winter picnic.

"Goody!" a Cub Scout yells.

Poured onto fresh snow, the syrup instantly thickens into a taffy-like confection. "Dig in—but don't eat the snow," Sanborn says. "It tastes better that way."

The boys twirl their forks around the caramel and gobble it in the open air. Sanborn then drips the thickened syrup over doughnuts and, as is tradition, serves them with pickles to cut the sweetness.

The Cub Scouts embark on an eating contest, with the aptly named Anthony Sweet taking the lead, consuming two pans of sugar-on-snow, two pickles, and two doughnuts.

As the sun recedes, there's even one more treat in store—fresh-made maple candy, which Sanborn concocts by continuing to heat the syrup on his stove, then pouring it into leaf-shaped molds.

As the banquet of sweets continues, Webelos Scout Corey Day pauses for a comment. "I thought drilling for sap was the most fun," he says, reaching for a piece of candy. "But I was wrong—it's eating."

Freelance writer Deborah Geigis Berry lives in Windsor, Conn.

Tapping Into Fun Stretching from as far north as Quebec to as far south as Virginia, and from Minnesota in the west out east to Maine, North America's maple belt produces all the world's maple syrup. Depending on the area (the farther north, the later the season starts), sap flows from January to April, with the typical run lasting four to six weeks. Most sugarmakers are eager to invite Scouts into their sugarhouses to witness the magical, sweet-smelling alchemy of sap boiling into syrup. With advance planning, you may be able to arrange an outing that includes tapping trees, taste-testing syrup, and feasting on sugar-on-snow. Below is a sampling of resources available from among North America's 10 top syrup-producing spots. For other leads, contact a state's department of agriculture. VERMONT The No. 1 state for syrup production is packed with family-oriented sugar shacks and maple farms. Request the pamphlet "Vermont Farms! Open to the Public" from the Vermont Department of Agriculture, (802) 828-2416, or log on to www.state.vt.us/agric/brochures.htm. To learn more about sugaring, syrup grades, and to order kid-oriented themed books, see www.vtonly.com. MAINE The Pine Tree State is the nation's No. 2 syrup-making spot, with Somerset County producing more sweet stuff than any other county in the country. Log on to www.getrealmaine.com (the Maine Department of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Resources) for a list of sugarhouses. NEW YORK Sugarhouses in the nation's third-largest syrup producer host visitors from March to mid-April. The third Sunday of March is "Maple Sunday," when all New York sugarhouses open their doors to the public. For the booklet "New York State Guide to Farm Fresh Products," call (800) 554-4501, or log on to www.agmkt.state.ny.us for an online version. OHIO The nation's fourth-top syrup producer has about 800 sugarmakers, many based in northeast Ohio. North-central Ohio's Malabar Farm, a 914-acre park in Lucas, hosts an annual syrup festival featuring an old-time sugar camp, costumed interpreters, and taste-testing; call (419) 892-2784, or see www.malabarfarm.org. For other leads, log on to www.ohiotourism.com and type in "maple syrup." NEW HAMPSHIRE Visit dozens of sugarhouses in the Granite State, the nation's eighth-largest syrup producer. For a list of sugarhouses, call the New Hampshire Maple Phone, (603) 225-3757, and request the pamphlet "These New Hampshire Maple Sugar Houses Welcome Visitors." For New Hampshire sugarmaking events and locations, log on to www.nhmapleproducers.com. MASSACHUSETTS More than 100 sugarhouses dot the central and western parts of the country's ninth-largest syrup producer. Log on to www.massmaple.org for a list of sugarhouses, an explanation of the sugaring process, and instructions on how to make your own maple syrup. CONNECTICUT The Constitution State's 30 sugarhouses collectively are the 10th-top producer of the nation's maple syrup supply. Request the pamphlet "A 2001 Guide to Connecticut Sugarhouses" from the Connecticut Department of Agriculture, (860) 713-2503, or access the list during sugaring season by logging on to www.state.ct.us/doag. —D.G.B.

Top of Page

Copyright © 2002 by the Boy Scouts of America. All rights thereunder reserved; anything appearing in Scouting magazine or on its Web site may not be reprinted either wholly or in part without written permission. Because of freedom given authors, opinions may not reflect official concurrence.

The Boy Scouts of America

http://www.scouting.org