Maple Weekend: How Sweet it is!
Longweekends
Fall Winter 2014
Mmmmm….who doesn’t love maple syrup? Look at the bottle in your 'fridge. Is it "maple-flavored syrup" or "100 percent maple syrup?" Most of us have gotten into the habit of settling for imitation syrup. However, now that Maple Weekend is here, it's time to break that habit and give the real deal a try
March is maple sugaring season and there is no better way to celebrate than partaking in Maple Weekend, where you can learn the short and sweet of maple production. Originally organized as Maple Sunday by a small group of Wyoming County maple producers about 20 years ago as a one-day open house to showcase their production facilities, it has grown to a two-weekend event that includes over 100 maple producers across the state. Maple Weekend takes place March 21-22 and 28-29, 2015. (www.mapleweekend.com)
Visitors can see all aspects of maple production, including tapping of trees and boiling sap into syrup. You may want to visit several producers as their methods vary. One of my Wyoming County favorites is Merle Maple on Route 98 in Attica, one of the top ten producers in the state. Merle offers horse-drawn wagon rides to the sugarbush, tours of the sugar house, and maple products for sale.
Another favorite is Sprague’s Maple Farms in Portville, just east of Olean. Take a wagon ride to their sugar house, where you can watch sap boiling and enjoy freshly made maple donuts. Their full-service restaurant, open year-round, features an all-day breakfast, served with their own syrup, as well as lunch and dinner entrees. www.spraguesmaplefarms.com
Longweekends
Fall Winter 2014
Mmmmm….who doesn’t love maple syrup? Look at the bottle in your 'fridge. Is it "maple-flavored syrup" or "100 percent maple syrup?" Most of us have gotten into the habit of settling for imitation syrup. However, now that Maple Weekend is here, it's time to break that habit and give the real deal a try
March is maple sugaring season and there is no better way to celebrate than partaking in Maple Weekend, where you can learn the short and sweet of maple production. Originally organized as Maple Sunday by a small group of Wyoming County maple producers about 20 years ago as a one-day open house to showcase their production facilities, it has grown to a two-weekend event that includes over 100 maple producers across the state. Maple Weekend takes place March 21-22 and 28-29, 2015. (www.mapleweekend.com)
Visitors can see all aspects of maple production, including tapping of trees and boiling sap into syrup. You may want to visit several producers as their methods vary. One of my Wyoming County favorites is Merle Maple on Route 98 in Attica, one of the top ten producers in the state. Merle offers horse-drawn wagon rides to the sugarbush, tours of the sugar house, and maple products for sale.
Another favorite is Sprague’s Maple Farms in Portville, just east of Olean. Take a wagon ride to their sugar house, where you can watch sap boiling and enjoy freshly made maple donuts. Their full-service restaurant, open year-round, features an all-day breakfast, served with their own syrup, as well as lunch and dinner entrees. www.spraguesmaplefarms.com
