Description

Join Coggeshall Farm as it celebrates nature’s bounty in the form of maple sugar. There is hardly a more joyous time of year than when the sap runs sweet from the trees. Native people from Canada to Massachusetts have long celebrated the period called, “sugar month” or “maple moon”. Depending on local climate, this period falls somewhere between mid February to mid April. Come and learn how early Anglo Americans regarded and adapted this well established practice of distilling precious sugar from the sap of the maple tree.

They will be demonstrating the sugaring process from tree to sugar using late 18th century tools and techniques. Other period demonstrations will take place in the farm house. Come and learn how to make delicious sugar from the sap of your own trees.

Our sugar comes from the Norway Maple. Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) is a species of maple native to eastern and central Europe and southwest Asia, from France east to Russia, north to southern Scandinavia and southeast to northern Iran. It is favored due to its tolerance of poor, compacted soils and urban pollution. As a result of these characteristics, Norway Maple is displacing locally native hardwoods in some parts of North America and is considered invasive in some states, but is still widely used for urban plantings in many areas. The sugar from the Norway Maple has a fine grain and a dark brown color. The flavor is multifaceted with overtones of molasses and sometimes butter. Some people prefer this sugar to that of the Rock Maple for its Rich flavor and delicate texture.