Certified Organic Vermont Maple Syrup
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Franklin Farm pure Vermont Maple Syrup is as special as it is unique. Many factors determine the flavor and quality of pure maple syrup. The distinct flavor of our syrup originates in the fertile limestone based soils of our woodlands. All summer long the maple trees produce sugar through photosynthesis. The trees use this sugar as energy to live and grow, and store in their roots for the following spring.
Early in the spring we harvest a fraction of the sweet sap produced by our maples. Late in February the whole family and some very good friends, head to the woods to tap the trees and ready the sap lines. We tap all of our trees with small taps called health spouts. We set out around 2500 of these. A tree 10” in diameter gets one tap, a tree 21” in diameter or larger gets a maximum of up to three taps. The trees and their taps are connected via plastic tubing we call sap line. All of the sap flows down the hill through these lines and is collected in big stainless steel tanks outside the sugarhouse. When the daytime temperatures start to warm up into the 40’s and the nighttime temperatures continue to dip down below freezing, the sap starts to run.
David is very particular about how the sweet sap is boiled into maple syrup. The fresh sap is put into a 4’ X 14’ stainless steel pan, called an evaporator, and a fire is lit using wood harvested here on the farm. It is good to have at least 2 people in the sugarhouse- the fireman, who feeds the fire every few minutes, and the sugarmaker who monitors the workings of the pan as the sap travels through it on its way to being syrup.
Maple sap is about 2% sugar. It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. Once the water has been boiled off and the syrup has reached the correct density, it is drawn off and filtered through a traditional double layered felt and paper filter. We are convinced that filtering in this traditional method is a key step in producing our delicious Franklin Farm pure maple syrup. The end result is fantastic tasting syrup with its complete mineral profile intact. When stored in glass, a fine layer of sediment will sometimes be evident at the bottom of the container.
Making high quality maple syrup that tastes this good takes sugarmakers that know and love what they are doing and are incredibly dedicated. Here at the Franklin Farm, David and the boys, with the help of some really good maple syrup crazed friends and relatives do what it takes to produce our syrup. Year after year people tell us that it is the best maple syrup they have ever tasted. We hope you think so, too.
We encourage folks to visit the sugarhouse during sugaring season and sample the syrup that’s being made that day. The aroma of maple is everywhere. The atmosphere is upbeat and jolly. There really isn’t anything quite like anywhere- early spring in the Vermont countryside-check it out, it’s contagious.
Please call ahead to see if the sap is running.1-877-254-2228 or 802-254-2228
To learn more about sugaring we highly recommend the Franklin Farm DVD for a complete explanation of sugaring here on our farm.maryellen at franklinfarmstore dot com
(877) 254-2228
4708 Weatherhead Hollow Road
Guilford VT 05301
Last Updated: August 21, 2008
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