If you have questions about maple, we have answers for you. Even if you don’t know which questions to ask, we can teach you EVERYTHING you need to know about maple syrup…ok maybe not everything…because Mother Nature still keeps some secrets for herself!
How to make maple syrup
In January 2022 we did a Facebook Live presentation in partnership with Lee Valley on how to make your own maple syrup.
You can watch the video here. (Run time: 1 hour)
Lee Valley is selling a great starter kit for collecting sap from your trees.
Did you know?
Producing maple syrup requires a 40:1 ratio of sap to final product.
That means it takes 40 buckets of sap to produce one bucket of syrup!
What are syrup grades?
When the syrup has reached its proper density (66.5% sugar or brix) we compare the maple syrup to the standardized colours inside the colour meter.
Then we assign the grade according to the colour it matches.
Which tastes best?
Your personal taste dictates the grade you prefer. At Fulton’s, we produce four types of maple syrup:
Golden: Delicate Taste
Amber: Rich Taste
Dark: Robust Taste
Very Dark: Strong Taste
Maple Recipes
As part of relaunching Fulton’s online, we’re going to be sharing once again our favourite maple recipes.
Watch the blog for regular recipe ideas!
What causes the leaves to change colour in the fall?
While Mother Nature hasn’t released all the details, from science we know that weather is critical to a vibrant, long-lasting fall colour change.
The shorter and cooler days in the late summer and early fall induce hardwood trees toward a dormant or resting stage of the annual growing cycle. The early dormancy stage triggers a colour change and drying of the leaves, eventually leading to leaf drop.
Most hardwood trees use a series of pigments to develop the colour of the leaves. The strongest pigment is green, produced from chlorophyll—a product of photosynthesis. This process helps the tree to feed its growth cycle through the production of starch.
The best colour change occurs when fall days are cool and sunny with occasional light frosts.
Fall colours with lots of vibrant reds indicate the trees are healthy and have started the production of sugars from the starch reserves.
However, dull and flat fall colours tell us that trees are under some type of stress—drought, acid rain, insect damage, disease, or even over tapping.