Sweet! It's Maple Weekend in Massachusetts
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Winter has begun to release its frozen grasp, the sap is running, and more than 300 farmers around Massachusetts are tapping trees and boiling sap to produce pure maple syrup.
To celebrate the state’s earliest and sweetest crop, the Massachusetts Maple Producers Association has organized Maple Weekend, with more than 40 sugarhouses and 30 restaurants highlighting this wonderful food.
Lists of participating sugarhouses and restaurants are available at www.massmaple.org. In Berkshire County, Holiday Brook Farm in Dalton will participate, as well as Ioka Valley Farm in Hancock, Mill Brook Sugarhouse in Lenox, Jennings Brooks Farm in New Ashford and Windsor Hill Sugarhouse in Windsor.
Sugarhouses around the state will be open to the public for tours, demonstrations and tastings, and opportunities to learn all about how maple syrup is produced and how it can be used. Visitors will also be able to buy fresh maple products direct from the farms.
In addition, many restaurants in Massachusetts will be featuring menu times made with 100% pure Massachusetts maple syrup. Everything from cocktails to deserts to marinades to salad dressings will highlight the versatility of maple syrup as an ingredient. Many recipes for delicious dishes made with Massachusetts maple syrup are available online at http://www.massmaple.org/recipes.php
Lists of participating sugarhouses and restaurants are available at www.massmaple.org.
In an average year, Massachusetts maple producers produce about 50,000 gallons of maple syrup worth more than $3 million. The 2014 season was excellent, and Massachusetts maple producers made more than 61,000 gallons of 100% pure maple syrup.
The Massachusetts Maple Producers Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of maple sugaring in Massachusetts.
