Today, March 25th, 2007 is Maine Maple Syrup Sunday.

My family and I got together for a breakfast at a local maple syrup farm. It had snowed a wet snow overnight and and the trees were white and glistening with the morning sun. Of course the back roads were a bit messy and we are in the midst of pot hole season to increase the driving challenge!

It’s a great time of year with the change of seasons. Maple Syrup Sunday rings in what’s called in Maine as mud season. Which is about a month before black fly season, but I’m digressing.

Back to Maple Syrup. We visited a farm overlooking the hills and valleys in Franklin County, Maine. It is called Maple Valley Farms and here’s whats on the menu:

Crepes and bacon, baked beans with maple syrup, hot dogs and clow slaw.

Located in Jay, Maine it is a large farm with three stacks of steam raising above the buffet barn. The tapping of the maple is from the trees in and around the property.

More maple syrup was being boiled down in a very large stainless steel cooker and the sweet smell of syrup was in the air. The breakfast included crepes, which according to wikipedia are described as: crêpe (pronounced IPA /kreɪp/, French /kʀɛp/) is a type of very thin cooked pancake usually made from wheat flour. The word, like the pancake itself, is of French origin, deriving from the Latin crispa, meaning “curled”. Wikipedia goes on to say that crepes are popular in Europe and some other parts of the world. In Maine there historically has been a very large population of French people and crepes are just a natural! They are really just a very light pancake. Growing up as a kid, we used to make them and roll them with peanut butter and jelly! Today, with the fresh maple syrup and bacon they were very good. Also, I guess continuing the French tradition, baked beans and hot dogs were also served with cole slaw. Also vanilla ice cream with fresh maple syrup on top.

Accordining to the website for the Maine Department of Agriculture, Maine Maple Syrup Sunday is the day when sugar makers around the State open the doors of their sugarhouses for the public to join them in their rites of spring - making maple syrup. Here’s your chance to see first hand how 40 gallons of maple sap is turned into just one gallon of that golden delight you pour over hot pancakes…or ice cream.

Maine Maple Sunday is always the fourth Sunday in March. Most producers participate every year, with most sugarhouses offering free tasting and a live demonstration of how syrup is produced, from tap to table. Many offer a variety of other treats and activities, including syrup on pancakes or ice cream, sugarbush tours, sleigh or wagon rides, and lots more. Many sugarhouses will arrange special tours and demonstrations for groups on other days as well - call them to make arrangements.

Enjoy the first sweet taste of spring in Maine!

Some source credit from wikipedia.com and The Maine Department of Agriculture.

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