Inside the Sugarhouse
Have you ever smelled an active sugarhouse? If you haven't, you're missing out. (For those not in the know, a sugarhouse is where you make maple syrup.) Sadly, sugaring is over for the season (and has been for a long time; yes this post has been a long time coming), but if you want to recreate that delicious scent, try any baking recipe that includes maple syrup. Maybe in future I'll post the recipe for my maple cookies with orange juice frosting. This post will cover my now-not-so-recent visit to the best sugarhouse: that of my Uncle David. I have been blessed to grow up with an open invitation to come visit whenever he and my Aunt Jane are sugaring. The dates of the sugaring season are in Spring, but beyond that they depend entirely upon the weather: you need cold nights and warm days to get the sap flowing. The weekend I was there was perfect. Here's the point where the lines from the trees flow into the little vacuum hut before moving on to the sugarhouse. ...