Maple Meetup

The sap is running here in Lanark County, the self-designated Maple Syrup Capital of Ontario.

Being on the edge of the Canadian [Precambrian] Shield, we have unique conditions that result in unique flavours. At least that's what this article, Flavour matters: What makes Lanark County maple syrup taste so good?, says although I can't tell the difference. (Mind you, I have never attempted side-by-side taste tests.)

Across Lanark County, you will find that our syrups have a similar flavour, but that taste is very different than in syrup found elsewhere ... It’s our distinct flavour that makes our region so attractive to maple syrup connoisseurs.

We have any number of sugar bush operations nearby with three in our area (although there are more beyond our local area)  offering restaurants. Our favourite, of whoch I have posted many times, is Wheelers, which is about a 45 minute drive.

It is a farther drive for Sue's sister and brother-in-law, but it is still a good place to meet when they are at the cottage. We have met up there several times in the past when a longer visit either her or there is not an option.

Shortly after we arrived and began to sip our coffee, Heather and Brian arrived. It turns out that we sat and talked for four hours before heading away in opposite directions.

While we would not have been able to occupy a table for that long at a busier time, such as last week during March Break, the place was relatively empty on this day. It wasn't always this ↓ empty, but this was the view from our table at one point.

And this was the view back toward the fireplace as we were leaving. This place was built by the family, and I think it's awesome stuck out there in the middle of the bush like this. I will never forget our first trip when I was sure the place was going to be nothing more than a little shack in the woods.

As a bit of an aside before we leave Wheelers, I asked the server (a member of the Wheeler family) a question about the operation. The question came from the fact that they stay open all year long whereas other operations in the area only stay open for the actual sap season. I therefore had surmised that Wheelers must import syrup from other sugar bushes in the region.

But this is not the case. In point of fact, they have an excess to distribute elsewhere.

They have more than 30 000 taps (in trees) which yield more than a million litres of sap, which at a 40:1 ratio boil down to 25 000 litres of maple syrup. Still, when I think of how much syrup we can go through in one sitting ...

Addendum: just to show that winter is still with us, an outside photo.