If you live in New England then you’d be hard pressed to go a mile or two down a country road without noticing sap buckets dotting the landscape this time of year. Like old-fashioned main streets, village greens and white church steeples, sugaring season is just another one of those quintessential New England marvels long time residents are just so accustomed to seeing, nobody really gives it a second thought.
But to the girl who grew up on the West coast…. it seems like every season, every outing, is just one big adventure after another. There are so many new things to see and do here in New England that I feel like if we don’t get out and go exploring at least once a week, I might just burst. 🙂
Last week for date day the HH and I stopped in at Folsom’s Sugar House in Chester, NH to buy a bottle of local maple syrup and to get a glimpse of the maple sugaring process.
Brian and Sue Folsom started experimenting with tapping their own trees and making their own maple syrup back in the late 80’s with some borrowed equipment from a neighbor. They quickly became hooked and soon after that Brian Folsom built a sugar house on their property and Brian and Sue have been selling their maple syrup now to the public sine the early 1990’s. How crazy is that? I love it when people turn their hobbies into a business!
The back of the sugar house.
Brian Folsom at work boiling down the sap.
Did you know it takes at least 40 gallons of sap to make just 1 gallon of syrup? Yikes! No wonder the good stuff costs so much, it’s a ton of work!
The shop area just off the sugar shack. Isn’t it adorable? I would LOVE to have a small little shop like this someday on our property filled with all my rug hooking goodness and wool.
And the sugar shack! Gaaaaaa. Isn’t it adorable? Doesn’t it make you want to move to the country and tap your own trees? Mrs. HB, are you reading this? I think you should buy the house next to mine so we could make our own maple syrup and maple flavored lip balm!!! 🙂
Ahh the good stuff. The time and energy that goes into making something from start to finish, on your own property, with your own hands, it might seem like it costs a pretty penny when you compare it to the factory made, big business, sitting on a grocery store shelf stuff, but man oh man, when it comes down to it, small batch and handmade is always the way to go.
And maple cream. Have you tried it? It’s an absolute dream on cinnamon raisin toast.
Ahh New England, you have my heart. ♥
So, if you ever find yourself in Chester, New Hampshire in March, be sure and stop by Folsom’s Sugar House for a jug or two of their maple syrup. It rocks!
~Mavis
Folsom’s Sugar House
130 Candia Rd, Chester, NH 03036
Pauline in Upstate NY says
OK, I’m impressed… Folsom’s is already boiling sap this year?? We are nowhere near that here in Upstate NY yet. (But a girl can dream!). We used to tap our own maples back when the kids were lower elementary age – just a galvanized tub on a rudimentary fire pit set-up in the backyard. Let me tell you, that was one serious kid magnet — between legitimized playing with fire and legitimized candy, what’s not to like?? Sugar on snow, anyone?? (That means overboiling just a bit so the syrup thickens into a gummy stick-to-your-teeth treat when you pour it in swirls over the snow and then pick it up to eat. And it’s also been observed that, should one try to pick it up using just your teeth — look ma, no hands! — you may end up with sticky stuff in your hair, eyebrows, nose, etc… 😉 ). And one more thought for you — it sounds revolting, but give it a try — sugar on snow served with a side of *pickles* is awesome! (Give everyone their own dish of snow to pour onto.) Also fun to give everyone a little mug with hot thickened syrup and let them beat it themselves into “cream”. You should try out various grades and see how different they taste. I much prefer the darker grades myself for both eating and cooking — it may not be as pretty in color, but it has much more maple taste. Good memories… And, yes, the stuff really *is* worth what they charge for it.
Susan says
That’s so funny that you mention pickles — many years ago I attended a gathering here in MA and they served donuts and … pickles. Full-sized dill pickles. When I (politely, I hope!) asked about the unusual pairing, the woman hosting said that this was very traditional. I’ve asked tons of locals since then, and only occasionally get someone who says, “Yeah, I guess I remember having that growing up in the winter” — usually from their childhood or something old-timey. Ha, so interesting! I’m in MA, by the way.
Katy says
Maple Creemees!!!! Have you tried one yet? (kind of like Maple soft serve) I could eat it by the dumptruck load every day. Mostly in Vermont, but I’m sure you could find one on a road trip! Don’t miss out!
Jeanine says
What a fun play date! Love it! Lip smacking! Just an idea….Maybe you should make a hooked rug with a sugar shack and trees with a tap. And snow of course!
Marybeth says
We go away every summer and find a small place like that to get our maple syrup. We buy a gallon and it gets us through the year. We prefer the old Grade B(I think it is the robust now). We have even gotten the grade C for baking. It is great for maple cookies and maple cake. Home made maple cotton candy anyone? The best. I need to go make cookies now.
C Sirca says
So I’ve never had a burning desire to go to New England until you moved there. I didn’t realize all there was to see and do! Thanks for adding like 50+ locations to my bucket list Mavis ha!
Norma says
Mine too!
Vivian says
Maybe you should mention to Mrs HB that she could make maple flavored dental floss…..that should get her out there on a flash!
Martha Buchanan says
You should check this place out. http://www.parkersmaplebarn.com/ in Mason Nh. You can also have a fabulous breakfast after checking out their sugaring operations.
Joyce in Indiana says
Mavis,
I’m in Indiana and I tap my 4 trees every year, I usually get about 1 and 1/2 gallon of syrup per season. Enough for me and the family. I am a wuss tho and cook mine off in the house on top of my wood burner. I freeze the sap until cook off and then do it all at once. I am sure my system is really crude but it works for us. Never had any trouble making the walls sweat or anything . It is ALOT OF FUN.
Joyce in Indiana
Linda Sand says
We’ve participated in syruping in Minnesota a few times but I am not willing to stand over that pot stirring forever to get to the syrup stage. It did make me realize why real maple syrup costs so much, though.
Kim says
I will come visit your rug hooking shop as soon as it is open…..wink, wink.
So many new places for us to visit next time we visit New England.
Julia Park Tracey says
I presume maple creme is like creamed honey? Whipped up? Sounds delicious. Thank you for showing us how it’s done. I want a maple doughnut now.
E in Upstate NY says
For the past two years, my son and his now fiancé worked at a large sugaring operation. In a large operation like this, buckets are no longer used. Special blue tubing [metal encased to prevent wild animal teeth piercing the tubing] webs its way through the trees bringing the sap goodness to a large stainless steel tank. On good days, the tanks need emptying daily. The company rents so many trees that they stock pile the sap, continuing to make maple syrup almost all year round.
Their evaporators no longer put out sticky moisture [reason for the roof vent] but capture it and add the sugar goodness back into the mix. The water output is “natural” water, and goes back into the ground.
They kept us well supplied in maple syrup, still using up the stock. Now that they have moved on, will definitely experience sticker shock.
Oh and yes, spun maple sugar is the BOMB! Its hard to make due to all the minerals also present in the maple syrup. So it too, is expensive.
Barbara Gantt says
Maple sugar is awesome too, great on oatmeal or applesauce, apple pie. Have you had sugar on snow? Make sure and go to one of the local Sugar on Snow dinners. Then there is maple cotton candy.
Ani says
Raspberry Maple Butter. Best maple product I’ve ever had locally here in upstate NY.
Gee says
Ah, Mavis, give careful thought to the cost (and I don’t mean money) of having a shop on your property. First, do your zoning laws even allow it? Second, and most important, are you gonna sit it in all day when it’s open? In your pajamas??? bwahaha!
Seriously, my sister-in-law opened a fabric store, held classes, and ran the business – at the expense of being in her house (and garden!) doing the things she loved. She finally just closed it down.