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    Home » Fresh from the Farm » Making Pure Maple Syrup

    Making Pure Maple Syrup

    Published: Feb 6, 2019 · Modified: Jul 1, 2020 by Jessica Robinson · This post may contain affiliate links

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    maple leaf shaped maple candy in red candy papers

    Do you love pure maple syrup as much as I do? Making Pure Maple Syrup has been a tradition throughout New England and New York for generations.

    Pure maple syrup in Italian glass maple leaf shaped containers, square paper tag tied on with gold loop

    We all love maple syrup on our Banana Pancakes, but did you know you can use it to sweeten your coffee or use in your favorite cake recipes?

    Right now, aromas of sweet sugary steam burrowing out of cupola doors on sugarhouses throughout New England and New York fill the crisp air this time of year. And with the abundance of snow that has been dropped up North this season, they should be blessed with enormous amounts of the sweet sticky goodness. During the early spring, for about six to eight weeks, farmers work frantically day and night to produce every last drop of maple syrup. The season will end abruptly when trees start to bud.

    Man with gray beard and wearing flannel jacket outside tapping maple trees for maple syrup

    My dad, Rob Lamothe started out with six taps and now has over 6,000 taps. Our family’s farm, Lamothe’s Sugar House has been producing pure maple syrup for over 40 years. What started as galvanized buckets. Today, everything is on plastic tubing. Hundreds of miles of blue tubing run throughout sugar bushes, into large collecting tanks. Sap is collected on a daily basis and brought back to the farm to boil down into maple syrup. Sap is perishable and has to be boiled within 24 hours.

    Why is Maple Syrup so expensive?

    Maple Syrup is often called Liquid Gold, because it takes approximately 43 gallons of sap to make ONE gallon of pure maple syrup. It’s a very labor intensive production.

    Isn’t that crazy?! You are probably realizing right at this moment, why the real stuff costs so much! Well worth every penny for something made from a local farmer!

    Man with gray beard and wearing a red and gray flannel coat outside tapping maple trees
    How long does Maple Syrup last?

    Maple syrup never goes bad. It’s bottled at 190 degrees F into food safe containers. As long as the container is sealed, it will last on your pantry shelf indefinitely. Once the syrup cools, it sucks down the seal on the lid.

    How to store Pure Maple Syrup:

    Refrigerate after opening the container.

    Should the maple syrup get mold, simply pour into a saucepan, bring to a boil, and skim off the mold. Place back into a clean container and let cool completely before refrigerating.

    Learn all about the grading of maple syrup. The darker the color, the deeper the depth of flavor.

    light blue plastic tubing collecting maple sap on a maple tree

    Maple syrup is made into many unique confections. Everything from granulated maple sugar and pure maple candies to Barbecue Sauce and meat spice rubs. Below, maple candies dry on a baking rack. At our family’s sugar house, maple candies dry and then are dipped into a crystallized coating. This coating gives them a natural outer coating which gives them a longer shelf life.

    maple leaf shaped pure maple candies drying on a baking rack

    Most of the Golden syrup is saved to make pure maple candies and sugar coated nuts. The reason being, the lighter the syrup, the higher the invert sugar, and the easier it will crystallize.

    My mom always said making maple candy is an art, not a science. If the weather was rainy or muggy, she wouldn’t make it, because candies might not set and harden.

    Granulated maple sugar is the granular form of maple syrup. Absolutely nothing added. It’s heated to a higher temperature and stirred to remove moisture.

    For baking recipes substitute equal parts of granulated sugar, adding the touch of maple sweetness, without adding any liquid. If you’re not in New England, the easiest place to find granulated maple sugar is on Amazon.

    maple leaf shaped pure maple candies in deep red candy papers sitting on a baking rack

    Sugar Houses in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York.  Also see my post on Sugar Houses in New England.

    More Maple Recipes:

    Maple Whiskey Grilled Chicken

    Grilled Maple Balsamic Pork Chops

    Maple Pecan Crusted Salmon

    Maple Pumpkin Pie

    Disclosure: As an Affiliate Marketer, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you click a product affiliate link on A Farmgirl’s Kitchen and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you!  I own every cooking product I recommend and love how they perform.

    « Pecan Crusted Salmon
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    Comments

    1. Chris says

      November 09, 2019 at 7:01 pm

      So Cool. I never knew were Burlington, CT was, but our nephew moved there and we do now! It will be a great little road trip. I love your blog. Thank you for sharing.

      Reply
      • Jessica Robinson says

        November 09, 2019 at 9:50 pm

        Yes!! How cool is that!? He’s in Burlington, CT now? Make sure he stops by my parents farm and say hello to my dad (Rob)!

        Reply
    2. Dalene Ekirapa says

      February 18, 2019 at 12:55 pm

      So that’s how they collect maple syrup? I never knew where it came from even though I’m such a user of maple syrup in the kitchen.

      Reply
    3. Kam Balitaan says

      February 18, 2019 at 6:48 am

      I didn’t have any idea on how the maple syrup were made! This is so cool and such an interesting post.

      Reply
    4. Kiwi says

      February 18, 2019 at 1:26 am

      I never knew it was so expensive to make maple syrup. But I love organic and pure maple syrup I definitely know the difference now.

      Reply
    5. Heather says

      February 17, 2019 at 2:25 pm

      This is all so fascinating to me. My aunt always brings us maple syrup from Vermont. It’s amazing.

      Reply
    6. Princess Quinn says

      February 17, 2019 at 12:53 pm

      I just love the packaging of it. It is so good that I don’t mind if it’s a bit expensive. Maple syrup is one of a kind.

      Reply
    7. Jennifer Morrison says

      February 17, 2019 at 3:50 am

      This is so neat! I have always wanted to know more about this process. We have been fans of real maple syrup for so long, and my brother loves the maple syrup.

      Reply
    8. Natalie says

      February 17, 2019 at 2:09 am

      We are BIG on maple syrup here in Canada, and sugar shack season is quickly approaching! I add maple syrup to everything, including pasta sauce!

      Reply
    9. Alexandra Cook says

      February 16, 2019 at 8:23 pm

      I have always wanted to try and make my own syrup before! I love how natural all this is!

      Reply
    10. Rowena says

      February 16, 2019 at 1:44 pm

      I didn’t this is how to collect maple syrup. The cookies sure looks really good and yummy.

      Reply
    11. kumamonjeng says

      February 16, 2019 at 3:40 am

      Glad to learn how the maple is coming from and why it is so expensive. I love the bottle of the maple syrup and can be re-use for decor after finish consuming them.

      Reply
    12. Tara Pittman says

      February 15, 2019 at 7:11 pm

      Very cool how they collect the maple syrup. I need to splurge on some real maple syrup.

      Reply

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    Jessica Robinson from A Farmgirl's Kitchen

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    I am a home cook who creates wholesome family meals, homemade pies, baked goods and preserves foods using easy to find ingredients. All of my recipes use simple and readily available ingredients.

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