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 Ever
wonder how the maple syrup on your table gets made? It's quite a
process, with a rich history, requiring some cooperation from nature.Before
the settlers came here, Native Americans of the Northeast called
it "Sinzibukwud," or "sweetwater." They would
cut slashes in the bark of maple trees with stone axes, collect
the sap, and store it in a hollow log. Then, they would heat rocks
in a fire, and by continually adding the hot rocks to the sap, they
would steam off the water so that only the sweet maple sugar remained.
And the Native Americans took this process very
seriously. They celebrated its harvest with elaborate festivals,
used it to season their food, and even considered it a source of
currency! The sweet, clear liquid that bleeds from maple trees is
no longer used as money, but is still boiled and condensed into
syrup. Look in the cupboards of most American homes, and there it
is -- maple syrup. But how does it get there? Well, the process
still starts with collecting the sap, but it's not as simple as
pounding a spigot into a maple tree and waiting for the sap to pour
out.
 The business of maple sap harvesting, like any other agricultural industry, is "entirely ruled by weather," says Bob Smith, owner of Smith's Maple Products and Sugar Tree Farms. "We have about a 30 day season, from the latter part of March to the latter part of April." In that short period, the temperature must be just right, with 40 degree days and 20 degree nights which is an average Maine spring. "Warm days and cold nights" is the credo of all who harvest the sap.
 The process to make candy is much the same as making syrup. The syrup is boiled to a "different temperature" for candy, then cooled. What temperature to make candy, you ask? Well... It's a trade secret; the Smiths aren't telling. What they did tell us, is that it's something you've got to taste for yourself.
We strongly suggest that you need to order yours today!
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