Why is the syrup in the bottom of the bottle cloudy?
If there is cloudy syrup at the bottom of your bottle, it is called "nitre” or often referred to as sugar sand. This is a natural accumulation of minerals from the trees. Many sugarers add filter aid to their syrup and process it to remove this. Because our syrup has nothing added, we only filter with felt filters to remove most of the sugar sand and some can get through. This is perfectly safe and only affects appearance.
Should I refrigerate the maple syrup?
Only after opening, unopened bottles are good for years if stored in a cool dark place.
What is in maple syrup?
66-68% sugar and the remainder is water. Sap is the only ingredient. Maple syrup is also the only natural sugar to contain a significant amount of antioxidants and minerals, see the Massachusetts Maple Producers Association for nutrition facts https://www.massmaple.org/buy-maple-syrup/#nutrition
Why are there different colors (grades) of syrup?
Maple flavor is created naturally from microbes in the syrup, early in the season this produces a delicate vanilla flavor, later in the season the syrup can become much darker and more intense.
Does tapping the tree hurt it?
No! Extensive studies from the University of Vermont have shown that tapping trees properly has little to no affect on the tree health. We determine how many taps to put in a tree by quite literally hugging it to see if it is large enough! Tap holes can actually already begin to heal before the sugaring season is over!
Do other trees than maples produce syrup?
Yes! There are a few unique types of syrup such as walnut syrup. These are hard to find for their smaller yields, we do not have any trees to tap but maples.
Why do maple trees produce syrup?
Maple trees like to bud and create seeds in the spring early before many others, to do this when you see the leaves changing in the fall, the sugar is traveling from the leaves to the roots for next spring! We simply take a fraction of that sugar for our enjoyment!