At Monroe’s Orchard & Farm Market, LLC we make our own maple syrup each year during the months of February and March. The season usually lasts 4 – 6 weeks when the weather is reaching the 40’s during the day and freezing during the night. This temperature pattern causes the sap to move up the tree and drip out the taps and into buckets or tubing. Buckets are gathered by hand, and tubing is run through the woods to gathering tanks.
It takes approximately 50 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of maple syrup. We use a reverse osmosis machine that removes 50-75% of the water, we then boil the concentrate. Maple syrup comes in different grades. The light grade being considered the best, is the mildest flavored. Many of our customers prefer the medium grade or medium-light grade, which has a slightly stronger flavor. The dark syrup has the strongest flavor, and is produced when the weather gets warmer, usually near the end of the season. Each day we boil a sample is taken and put in our window for our customers to see.
Our maple syrup is shipped all over the world. Many who have lived in our area of Ohio and moved away still crave that pure sweet Ohio maple syrup on their pancakes. There is nothing like it!
Stay sweet everyone, and don’t forget to check out the “Monroe’s Orchard Sugarhouse Shake” on YouTube! You can definitely see the younger generation’s influence…
