WESTBROOK – When it comes to maple syrup, there’s one thing to remember: The darker the shade the more robust the flavor.
And vice versa.
The lighter the syrup – that liquid gold color we so often associate with memories of sugar house visits of yore – the sweeter and more delicate the taste.
In the world of Maine-made maple syrup, all syrup, no matter the shade, is Grade A. So visitors to sugar houses throughout the area for this week’s Maine Maple Sunday can be assured they’re getting the best.
In Maine’s competitor to the west, Vermont, Grade A is reserved for the lighter shades of syrup, while darker shades are designated Grade B. But, don’t be confused by Vermont’s lettering system, which can find its way to local market shelves. It’s all high quality, delicious, and particularly delightful on pancakes or some other favorable food foundation.
“There’s definitely a confusion that exists regarding Grade B, that it is somewhat of lesser quality,” said Kathy Hopkins, newsletter co-editor for the Maine Maple Producers Association and educator for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension.
Hopkins has become an expert over the years on all kinds of syrup, no matter the color. She says all grades and hues cost about the same and that the darker Vermont Grade B is equivalent to Maine’s Extra Dark.
Hopkins says Maine distinguishes four grades of syrup: light, medium, dark and extra dark. The thickness is the same for each, the only difference being the flavor.
Sharon Lloy, who owns Balsam Ridge maple sugaring operation with her husband, Dewey, on Egypt Road in Raymond, says the first run of the season usually produces the lightest colored syrup of the season. As the season progresses, the syrup gets darker since the tree sap is composed of less sugar.
When you boil it down, both literally and figuratively, the color of the syrup you pour on your pancakes depends on how much sugar was originally in the sap. The higher the sap’s sugar content, the less time sugar producers like the Lloys have to boil the sap in order to make syrup. And as the sugar content in the tree decreases throughout the season, the longer it takes for the “boiling down” process to produce a syrupy mixture.
“We usually get a 40-to-1 ratio in the early season where 40 gallons will make one gallon of syrup,” Lloy said. “Later in the season, it takes about 45 to 50 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup.”
The color becomes darker the longer the sap has to boil since the sugar crystals burn from the heat. That chemical process also results in a more robust, caramelized flavor.
The process of turning sap – which looks like water and has a lightly sweet taste when it drips from a sugar maple tree – into syrup is a government regulated, scientific process.
Hopkins said Maine syrup producers can’t sell syrup below 66 degrees brix or above 68.9 degrees brix. (A “degree brix” is the number of grams of sucrose in 100 grams of solution. It’s a way to measure the amount of suspended solids, which in syrup’s case is sugar.)
Syrup less than 66 degrees brix is considered too watery and anything higher than 68.9 is considered a supersaturated solution where the sugar crystals can fall out of the solution. While regulation is partly required to make sure consumers are getting what they paid for and not some watered-down version, health considerations are at play as well.
“The concentration of sugar in the syrup is important. Between 66 and 68.9 brix, bacteria and funguses can’t grow. If it’s under 66, there’s a chance it would spoil. Over 68.9 brix and it would be hard to pour and looks rocky at the bottom of the bottle,” Hopkins explained.
However you like your syrup, whether on the lighter, sweeter side or the darker, more daring side, March is the time to savor it.
“It really comes down to personal preference,” Hopkins said. “Many people actually like the darker grades since it seems to retain its flavor more than if you use a lighter grade.”
Participating farm listing from
www.getrealmaine.com
Androscoggin County
Harvest Hills Farm
260 Megquier Hill Road, Poland
Hours: Open Sunday 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Contact: 998-5485;
e-mail: pumpkinland@harvesthillfarms.com;
website: www.harvesthillfarms.com
Cumberland County
Balsam Ridge
140 Egypt Road, Raymond
Hours: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Contact: 655-4474;
e-mail: lloy@fairpoint.net;
website: www.balsamridgechristmas.com
Coopers Maple Products
81 Chute Road, Windham
Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Contact: 892-7276;
e-mail: gmcooper81@aol.com;
website: www.coopersrhf.com
Grandpa Joe’s Sugar House
North Baldwin: Route 107 to 103 Murch Road. Top of hill, white farmhouse.
Hours: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Contact: 787-3300 or 787-2903,
e-mail: bmckenney15@hotmail.com or Baldwin_sugarmakers@hotmail.com
website: www.grandpajoes.net
Greene Maple Farm
77 Bridgton Road, Sebago.
Hours: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Contact: 787-2424.
Jo’s Sugarhouse
Gorham: Just south of intersection
of routes 35 and 237.
Hours: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Contact: 204-671-2189;
e-mail: farmerjo@maine.rr.com
Kyle’s Maple Syrup Shack
West Baldwin: Junction of Route 113 and Douglas Hill Road.
Hours: 8 a.m.-2 p.m.
Contact: 625-4605;
e-mail: johndeerguy54@yahoo.com
Merrifield Farm
195 N. Gorham Road, Gorham
Hours: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Contact: 892-5061;
e-mail: Merfarm@aol.com
Nash Valley Farm
Nash Road, Windham
Hours: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Contact: 892-7019;
e-mail: nashvalleyfarm@myfairpoint.net
Parsons Maple Products
322 Buck Street, Gorham
Hours: Open 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Contact: 831-4844;
e-mail: robert65mac@maineroadrunner.com
Sweet William’s
66 Spiller Road, Casco
Hours: 9 a.m.-4 p.m., syrup available year-round.
Contact: 627-7362;
e-mail: ssymonds@maine.rr.com
York County
Brookridge Boilers
Located on Route 111 in Lyman, approximately 3 miles west of the Route 35 intersection between Biddeford and Sanford.
Hours: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Contact: 490-2957.
Harris Farm
Dayton: From Saco, Rte 5 West to Rte 35, left onto 35, go one mile to Buzzell Road.
Hours: 8 a.m.-2 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.
Contact: 499-2678;
e-mail: rachel@harrisfarm.com;
website: www.harrisfarm.com
Hilltop Boilers
157 Elm Street, Newfield
Hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Store only Saturday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Contact: 793-8432, 793-8850;
e-mail: hilltopboilers@psouth.net
Irish Maple Sugar House
359 Shapleigh Corner Road, Shapleigh: On Route 11 about 1 1/2 miles from the foot of Mousam Lake.
Hours: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday
Proceeds from raffle benefit United Way of York County
Morin’s Maple Syrup
Take Route 11 West from Limerick. Go 1.25 miles and take first left. Follow signs.
Hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Contact: 793-8420;
e-mail: debbie@fergtek.com
Ridley Farm
38 Nason Road, Shapleigh
Hours: 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Contact: 636-4519;
e-mail: harris@metrocast.net
Royal Maple
219 Back Nippen Road, Buxton
Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Contact: 229-9125;
e-mail: sales@diecastwarehouse.com
Sugar Hill Maple Products
93 Hicks Road, Newfield
Hours: Saturday, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.;
Sunday 12-4 p.m.
Contact: 793-2773
Thurston And Peters Sugarhouse
“TAPS” is located on Route 11, 8.5 miles north of the intersection of routes 109 and 11 in West Newfield.
Hours: Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Contact: 793-8040, 793-8886;
e-mail: taps@metrocast.net;
website: www.thurstonandpeters.com
Triple C Farm
1 Brock Road, Lyman
Hours: Saturday and Sunday 6 a.m.-4 p.m.
Contact: 247-6765.
e-mail: toyota_camry08@hotmail.com.
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