After a large amount of snow, along with frigid temperatures, Aroostook County residents are ready for the milder weather coming this weekend.
Each year the fourth Sunday of March, the state’s maple producers kick open the doors to their sugarhouses to the public for demonstrations, tours and taste-testing of gooey goodness.
Charlene and Boyd Bradbury of Bradbury Maple Farms in Bridgewater have been part of this labor-intensive process of making “Grade A” maple syrup for 30 years.
Bradbury Maple Farms will be open to celebrate with an open house on Saturday and Sunday from 1-5 p.m. For those who cannot make it out this weekend, the Bradburys hold three more weekends of maple madness —March 29-30; April 5-6; and April 12-13 — where people can experience the sweetness from 1-5 p.m. each of those weekends.
“I think after a long, long winter, everyone is anxious to get outdoors and be with their families,” said Charlene. “We have practically newborn babies visit us right on up through people in their 90s. Maple Sunday is a sign of spring. I think for those who are local or repeat visitors, it is a social time, as well.”
But, more than that, it is especially the right time to get Maine-made maple syrup — it does not get any fresher.
The Bradburys will also carry on the tradition of maple taffy on the snow, which has become a popular annual activity, which is free to those who come to the open house weekends.
“It is just a favorite of everyone’s,” said Charlene.
Taffy on the snow is thick syrup poured on the snow — taking syrup from the stove and putting it on a stainless steel tray and pouring the liquid onto the snow — for participants to take a popsicle stick and roll it in the syrup for a quick sweet treat.
For those who want to capture their visit for posterity, the Bradburys will have a new wooden maple leaf prop for photographs.
“Our son, Chad, and his wife, Karen, for Christmas got us a six-foot tall sign that says Bradbury Maple Farms with a maple leaf on it,” said Charlene. “There is a hole in the middle of the maple leaf for people to stick their heads through to get a picture taken. I am sure that will be a lot of fun since our grandchildren are already excited about that.”
Bradbury Maple Farms also has bottles of syrup, maple cotton candy, maple leaf candies, barrel or moose-shaped suckers, maple cream, maple jelly, maple sugar and frozen tubs of taffy.
“It (taffy) is a French-Canadian tradition and people have grown to like it very much,” said Charlene. “It is growing in popularity, as well.”
Maple producers, like the Bradburys, have not fared well this past week with below-normal temperatures.
So how has the sap been flowing? “None at all,” laughed Charlene. “We had a little run this week and one prior to that. It has just been way too cold.”
For the sap to run, temperatures need to be in the 40s during the day and 20s at night. Obviously, the weather has not cooperated.
But, even though the maple syrup process seems late this year, it really is right on time.
“The last few years, we have been making quite a bit of syrup by early March,” explained Charlene. “This year, it is back to the old-fashioned way, which for years, I would say 20 years or more, we did not do much before the 23rd of March. We have been spoiled, I guess. This is an old-fashioned winter for sure.”
Bradbury Maple Farms consists of 85 acres. The average production of each tree varies depending upon the weather.
“Not too many years ago, we had a bad year and I think we had 400 gallons,” said Charlene. “And, this past year, we made over 900 gallons. It totally depends on the type of season you have.”
The Bradburys have modernized and made improvements since their first year in the business when they gathered 17 gallons of maple syrup. They now have automatic cameras, television monitors to observe the quality of sap flow.
During the open weekend, sugarhouse tours will be given.
“We have three buildings,” said Charlene. “The first one I refer to as the sap house, which is where all of the sap from the woodlot comes into — the 3,000 taps we have — it runs through a reverse osmosis machine, which takes a lot of the water out. From there, it goes up the camp where it is boiled. It takes less time to boil it because it is more concentrated, which is good because our evaporator is now oil-fired.
“Our son, Bart, is very much into all of the latest technology,” she added. “He has cameras set up with a television in what I call my store/kitchen building so he can monitor all of the different buildings even down to the sap flow.”
The Bradburys have extra help on the open house weekends so Charlene said she is usually cooking taffy or making candy. Charlene’s husband, Boyd, stays out in the sugarhouse, with his cousin, George Bradbury, who helps with the boiling and the bottling, while grandchildren, Whitnie, Clark, Brayden and Breann and daughter-in-law Heather help on weekends and during preparation time.
The evaporator that the Bradburys are using actually belonged to Boyd’s great-grandfather. When Boyd bought the woodlot from his grandparents, he discovered that the evaporator, at least parts of it, had been left in the woods.
“Great Grampie Sharp had made syrup for a few years,” said Charlene. “My husband bought the woodlot not intending to make maple syrup, but then he found the evaporator and restored it — he has built a lot of additions onto that himself — so there is a family history to it as well.”
After the weekend, the Bradburys will begin scheduling their school tours for area children.
Bradbury Maple Farms is located at 202 BootFoot Road. For more information, log onto www.bradburymaple.com, email info@bradburymaple .com or call 429-8306 or 399-1979 to set up a tour.
For more information on Maine Maple Sunday visit www.getrealmaine.com or www.mainemapleproducers.com.
Smyrna also has sugar house tours to test your taste.
In Smyrna, Spring Break Maple and Honey will be hosting a variety of activities from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday at their shop at 3315 U.S. Route 2 in Smyrna Mills.
Kevin and Kristi Brannen, along with their helpers, will be offering a tour of the sugar house, along with the new processing facility on both days. On Sunday at 1 p.m., the Brannens offer a detailed guided tour of their woodlot.
“We will have an introduction to our new grading system with free samples of maple syrup,” said Kristi. “Our famous maple sundaes will be for sale too. And of course, sugar on the snow, which is a favorite for young and old.”
On hand at the shop will be candy demonstrations, and of course, samplings. As well as, sugar on the snow.
The infamous Spring Break Maple and Honey sundaes will be on sale.
Though the new processing facility is still under construction, it will be open for the public.
“It is heated and enclosed,” said Kristi. “It is a great place to hang out if it is cool outside.”
Spring Break Maple and Honey tap 3,000 trees on 80 acres and the production last year yielded just under 800 gallons of syrup.
The Brannens began the business in 1998, after many years as hobbyists. This year, Spring Break Maple is celebrating its 16th anniversary and the 31st year of Maine Maple Sunday.
Spring Break Maple and Honey’s regular business hours are Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Call toll free at 1-800-281-0021 or visit www.mainemapleandhoney .com.
