A Little bit about Maple Sugaring

Greens Sugarhouse
1846 Finel Hollow Rd
Poultney, VT 05764
(802) 287-5745

At Green's Sugarhouse Your Satisfaction is always Guaranteed. If you or the person you sent our products to is not 100% satisfied upon receipt, than give us a call to arrange a replacement or credit.

In Summer, bright green leaves on sugar maple trees combine sunlight, carbon dioxide, water, and soil nutrients to produce food energy for tree growth through photosynthesis. Fall frosts bring on spectacular leaf color displays and cause some food energy to be converted into starch. Throughout the winter months, the trees store this starch in the root tissues waiting for the warmer sunlight of Spring to touch their branches. The starch is then converted into sugar, an energy boost for young leaves. This sugar mixes with moisture from the ground within the trees forming sap. A tree is usually 40 years old and 12 inches in diameter at chest height before the Sugarmaker considers it for one tap. When Spring temperatures reach 45F during the day and the nights remain below freezing (25F is perfect), the Sugarmaker drills a hole in the trunk of the tree and taps in a spout with either a hook and bucket or plastic tubing attached. Sugaring Season begins! The sap averages 2-3% sugar and looks like clear water, while the sugar content of syrup is 66.6%. The Sugarmaker will have gathered 40 gallons of sap for each gallon of syrup that he makes. Each tap will yield about 1 quart of syrup during the season. Some of our trees have been tapped by our family for over 200 years!
The sap is gathered and brought to the sugarhouse where it is quickly boiled down over a roaring wood fire in our large (5'X14') stainless steel evaporator. The fresh syrup is then filtered, graded, checked for density and packed into stainless steel barrels for storage or retail containers for you to enjoy.
Sugaring ends when warmer Spring temperatures coax the leaf buds to unfold, leaving the Sugarmaker to pull his taps, clean his equipment and sell his sweet treats to you.
Please try some of our pure Vermont maple syrup and other maple products which are made by boiling down the maple syrup even further, turning it into wonderful treats like maple cream, candy and granulated maple sugar.