Visitors flocked to local sugar houses over the weekend to get a taste of the fruits of the maple syrup season — one that yielded a smaller-than-usual crop.
Each year, the New Hampshire Maple Producers Association hosts Maple Weekend in March, which is Maple Month. Participating sugar houses across the state open their doors to demonstrate their processes to curious visitors and sell their products.
Alfred Sawyer of Jaffrey welcomed a stream of visitors to the Sawyer Farm sugar house in Jaffrey on Saturday and Sunday, selling gallons of his syrup, maple candy, maple Chex Mix and maple cream. He said as the season came to a close, he made about 90 gallons of syrup in a truncated season.
“It looks like we’re having a short season this year,” Sawyer said. “We had a freeze at the end of February, and then it warmed up and never really got cold again.”
Since maple syrup is made from sap that flows when the weather fluctuates between cold nights and warm days, that’s not ideal for the maple sugarers of the region, Sawyer said. It also affects the kinds of syrups that can be made. Maple syrup comes in a variety of shades, from light to dark. Light syrup is generally made at the start of the season, and as the weather warms, produces a darker color. The darker the syrup, the stronger the maple flavor. Sawyer said he made very little light syrup this year, just one batch, with most being a medium grade.
Meg Jones of Jaffrey was one of the many visitors to the Sawyer Farm sugar house over the weekend, and said they make her favorite syrup in the area – something she discovered years ago and has made her a loyal customer.
“We just used our last jug today on our morning waffles,” Jones said. “It’s important to support our local producers, particularly for something like syrup-making. It’s an homage to the past and our local culture, and we need to support them to make sure they stay around.”
Dana Ryll of Fieldstone Farm in Rindge also welcomed visitors over the weekend, and said that while he had visitors for the last two years amidst COVID-19, this year he saw many more visitors, despite rainy weather on Saturday.
Ryll agreed with Sawyer that production is down this year, with just over 100 gallons bottled at his hobby farm. Comparatively, in 2020, he made about 300, in a particularly strong year.
“We’re about half of what we should be,” he said. “I’m hoping to be able to bottle at least one more time.”
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.