Kortright Maple Sugarbush

On Wednesday we visited the Kortright Maple Sugarbush.

The Kortright Centre for Conservation is a 325 hectare suburban conservation area, mainly covered in pine and maple forest. They run lots of public education programs, one of which is the Maple Syrup Festival which teaches how maple syrup production has evolved over time.

We arrived at about 2pm, and couldn't work out how to buy a ticket. We'd driven in past a gatehouse with a sign advertising ticket prices, but it was all closed up. We had a look online and found we could purchase tickets through Kortright's website, but decided to just walk inside and see what the deal was. Good thing that we did, because the lady at the desk said she wouldn't charge us! Apparently the centre closes down around 3pm, so she didn't want to charge us for only an hour of exploration. She gave us a map and pointed out the two stops on the walk that were currently open. I think there were more activities running earlier in the day, and definitely would be lots going on in the weekends.

We walked out of the visitors centre and started down a path into the valley. Along the way there were lots of interpretive signs with facts about maple trees and maple sap harvesting.

After a few minutes walk we arrived at the first stop, an early settlers camp. Here a lady had three massive cauldrons of sap boiling over charcoal fires. This three cauldron method had been developed to improve the production time of maple sugar. The raw sap was added to the largest cauldron and boiled until it began to reduce and change colour. At this point the contents were moved to the next smaller cauldron, and the largest one was refilled with the next batch of raw sap. This process was replicated between the middle and smallest cauldron, with the contents being moved when it started becoming syrupy. The syrup was boiled in the final cauldron until it became quite thick, at which time it was poured out into a bucket through a wool filter which removed any debris that had fallen in during production. Finally, this thick syrup would be slowly cooked over a stove or fire until almost all the water was removed, and it would be poured into a mold where it would set into a hard block of maple sugar. Maple sugar was a lot more useful during this era, as it has an almost indefinite shelf life, unlike syrup which would eventually spoil. This sugar could then be used for energy, and for international trade.

We learned that the entire maple sap harvesting season is only 4 - 8 weeks long, depending on the weather. Cold nights and warm days creates internal pressure in the tree which stimulates sap flow from the roots up the trunk. This is one of the main reasons why Canada (Quebec, in particular) produces over 70 percent of the world's maple syrup. There's not necessarily more maple trees in Quebec, it's just that the climate is perfect for maximum production of maple sap!

At the beginning of the season, syrup makers must identify which trees in their sugarbush are actual Sugar Maple trees. This is tough because there are many tree species which often grow together, which all look very similar when they have no leaves or buds. The farmers look for patterns in the bark and branches of the trees, to ensure they're not going to tap an Ash, Norway Maple, or Dogwood tree.

Once identified, holes are drilled in the trunks of the trees and little nozzles called 'spiles' are installed. Most trees only get one or two spiles, with only the largest having three. This is to limit the amount of sap that is drained from the tree, to ensure the trees stay healthy. It's a similar principle to donating blood, a little bit is no problem at all, but you'll die if you lose too much. The spiles have holes on the underside of the tube that gets inserted in the tree, as the sap is flowing upwards inside the trunk.

Early harvesters would just cut notches into the tree to drain the sap, but this eventually evolved into metal spiles with a hook to hang a bucket from, with lids to keep out bugs and dirt. They would hike through the forest at least once per day collecting the sap, and then haul it back to the camp. Modern spiles are plastic and connected in huge long chains with vacuum tubing that delivers the sap directly to the sugar shack.

As the season progresses, the sugar content of the sap decreases. It can start at 4 - 5%, but will decrease to about 1% before harvesting stops. Once the tree starts budding, it begins producing other compounds which don't taste very good. Canadian Maple Syrup regulations are very strict, and syrup must be 66% sugar (actually 66°Bx). This means that the syrup needs to be boiled for longer periods as the initial sugar content decreases. The result of the longer boiling time is increased caramelisation of the sugars in the syrup, giving it a deeper and stronger flavour, and darker colour. Grade A Canadian Maple Syrup is classified as follows:

• Golden Colour and Delicate Taste
• Amber Colour and Rich Taste
• Dark Colour and Robust Taste
• Very Dark Colour and Strong Taste

After tasting some syrup from the cauldrons, we carried on around the path to a more modern (mid 1900's) sugar shack. Here they had a metal trough-like system with a fire underneath and a series of baffles inside which the sap slowly flowed through. This system was a considerable improvement over the cauldrons as it allowed for real continuous production.

The lady running this presentation told us that traditionally the top of the shack would be open, as with a fire running inside 24/7 it would get pretty hot and steamy inside. Unfortunately, the local population of raccoons had discovered what was hiding inside the shack and worked out how to climb down the rafters from the roof. They discovered this one morning after the raccoons broke in, turned on the outflow tap from the finished syrup pan, and irresponsibly neglected to turn it back off. There was a huge pool of syrup all over the ground, and sticky paw prints all over the walls and ceiling!