Farm to Table...

I’ve blogged about maple sugar before, so I’m happy to report that March is maple season in Michigan. The Detroit News recently reported on maple production in Michigan (see article Michigan syrup producers are ready). The good news: Steven Horn, supervising naturalist at Indian Springs Metropark, told the News that “conditions are right for the sugar maples to perform their yearly ritual.” The words “perform” and “yearly ritual” make it what’s happening sound a little more exciting than it is—sap is slowly dripping inside the trees. Still, the sweet stuff is the first harvest we have each year and we only have five to fourteen days to collect it, by the time the buds are forming on the tree's branches, the sap is already bitter and impossible to work with. Along with a love of syrup, Horn shares one of my favorite pastimes: making Sugar on Snow candy. “I like to boil the syrup down until it starts to crystallize,” he told the News, “and then pour it on a plate to cool and harden. That’s the best.” I couldn’t agree more!