Our family puts maple syrup in and on everything: baked beans, barbecue sauce, pork chops, pancakes, and even bowls of fresh snow. But before we pour a drop, our favorite sweetener makes a long journey from snow-tipped maples to our kitchen table. Last March, I traveled with my husband, Bryan, and kids, Cady, age 10, and Hudson, 7, to northern New Hampshire to witness the magical process of sugaring -- turning tree sap to syrup -- at the 126-year-old Rocks Estate, where the work is done the old-fashioned way.
What we did: A 90-minute tour to harvest sap and taste-test syrup at the Rocks Estate, Bethlehem, New Hampshire.
What we paid: Admission for us was free because we stayed at the Indian Head Resort in Lincoln, one of several area hotels offering maple sugaring packages at the Rocks. For day visitors, the cost is $10 for adults; $7 for kids 3 to 10; under 3, free.
Want to try it? The Rocks is open for sap tours on March 14, 21, and 28 this year (603-444-6228; therocks.org). For a list of maple syrup associations that host family events, visit the North American Maple Syrup Council.
1. HOLY MOLY
During a horse-drawn wagon ride into the Rocks Estate maple grove, we learn that early spring's warm, sunny days and freezing nights cause the sap to flow through the trees. Our guide, Nigel Manley, drills a hole in a sugar maple using an old-fashioned auger. "I see sap!" Hudson cries, as clear liquid drips from the tree.
2. TAPPED OUT After the kids sample the sap ("It's watery," they agree), they take turns hammering a spile, or tap, into the tree. Cady hangs a two-gallon bucket on the spile to catch the sap and attaches a cover to keep out rain. It takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup, Nigel tells us. The Rocks collects about 6,000 gallons of sap and ends up with about 150 gallons of syrup each year.
3. AMBER ALCHEMY In the sugarhouse, third-generation sugar maker Brad Presby invites us to gather round the evaporator, where the sap is boiled. "What makes syrup brown?" Cady wants to know. Presby explains that as the water in the sap boils away, the intense heat turns the syrup brown. New Hampshire sugarhouses call lighter brown syrups Grade A, darker brown, Grade B; terms vary somewhat from state to state.
4. DIPPING DOUGHNUTS Warming up indoors, we enjoy a traditional New England treat: doughnuts and sour pickles dunked in the farm's Grade A Medium Amber. "I love it!" Hudson says, syrup dribbling down his chin. Propelled by that energy boost, we take time to explore the Rocks on snowshoes. As we crunch past evergreen trees, we soak up mountain views that make our trip extra sweet.
