It’s spring and that means something sweet is brewing across New Brunswick: maple syrup! Last week we travelled to Dumfries Maples located on the picturesque Saint John River Valley, about 35 minutes from Fredericton. We found this sugar bush by searching for “maple” in our free BuyLocalNB™ mobile app. Upon arrival, we were greeted by co-owners and siblings Nathan and Jane Scott and their cute and friendly dog, Bella.
We began our tour learning about the history of the sugar bush. The land was purchased by Nathan’s family in the 1900s and used as a family farm and home. The family started making maple syrup in the ‘70s for personal use. Nathan, a forester, decided to start producing maple syrup in larger quantities in 2007. The sugar bush now has more than 4,000 taps. The property features a sap house, where the maple syrup is made, and a pancake house, where it’s enjoyed. Want to learn how maple syrup is made? Nathan offers tours of the facilities. Feel like enjoying some pancakes with delicious Dumfries maple syrup? Visit their cedar log cookhouse seven days a week.
Did you know?
- Maple sap, what comes out of maple trees once they are tapped, contains only 3 per cent sugar.
- New Brunswick is the third largest maple producer in the world behind Quebec and Vermont.
- The maple sugar season in New Brunswick usually runs until late April.
- The ideal weather for collecting maple sap is when the temperature is -5°C at night and around 5°C during the day.
- Indigenous peoples were the first to discover how maple sap can be processed into syrup and sugar in New Brunswick.
- When maple trees start to produce buds, it makes the sap of the tree taste bad and can ruin a whole batch of syrup if not detected. It is referred to as “buddy sap.”
- It takes roughly 40 gallons of sap to produce a single gallon of maple syrup.
- Canada’s system for rating maple syrup includes five hue-related categories: Extra Light (AA), Light (A), Medium (B), #2 Amber (C), and #3 Dark (D).
- Maple syrup is 100 per cent natural and sustainable, and producers must stick to strict guidelines and standards set forth by Canadian law throughout the production process. Each maple harvest season, the sugar trees are tapped in a slightly different area than the previous year, preserving the health and enforcing the sustainable growth of the trees.
Maple syrup season is short but sweet and we certainly recommend visiting Dumfries Maples for a delicious local treat!
—Karyn, Olivia and Pascale