Connor Tracy of Aurora thinks that when it comes to having syrup on his pancakes, he’d rather make it the old-fashioned way if he could.
“I think getting sap from a tree and making syrup would be better than buying it at a store,” the youngster said.
He was not alone in his sentiments about making real syrup as one of nature’s natural sweeteners was being tapped all morning Saturday at the Red Oak Nature Center in Batavia. Visitors came in droves to watch as sugar maple sap was collected, just as it was centuries ago.
Every hour from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m., groups met for a 15-minute introduction about the history and method of collection before journeying out on the trails to see the process at work. White buckets were hung from various trees waiting to collect the sap that is 97 percent water.
Facility supervisor and naturalist Margaret Gazdacka conducted the orientation and tours and said that this year’s supply of sap was not as plentiful as it has been in years past.
“You need some good changes in temperature with warm days and cold nights, and once the temperature begins to even out, the sap doesn’t go up and down and you get this yellow tinge to it,” Gazdacka explained. “This year, we really haven’t had the extremes in temperature you really need.”
The annual Maple Fest at the Red Oak Nature Center is something that Gazdacka said “allows visitors to sort of unplug for a while.”
“This is something that dates back centuries ago, and people are always interested where their food comes from,” she said. “Sap is the plant’s food, and you can tap into an oak tree if you want to, but the sugar maple sap is the sweetest. You need about 40 gallons of it to make one gallon of syrup.”
Shane Wilcome of Aurora along with his wife Brittany and daughter Celeste attended the first session Saturday and all had different impressions about what they just saw.
“I grew up on a farm in Michigan, so I’m familiar with the process,” Shane said. “We had more sap there because it’s colder and the sap goes into the roots and then rises when the weather warms up.”
Brittany Wilcome described the century-old process as “amazing” and said this was the first time she had seen sap collected from maples.
“Of course it must have been the Indians who discovered this as they were the first settlers, but who would have thought of getting food from a tree?” she said. “I’m sure this is much more delicious than anything you could buy.”
Naturalist Christy Graser led a boiling demonstration before samples of recently brewed syrup were passed out to guests. She noted that years ago, the syrup was used as a seasoning.
“Imagine putting something like this on meat,” she told visitors. “The original settlers used this in many ways.”
Mike Woods of Montgomery and his 10-year-old son Logan also visited the Nature Center Saturday. Mike Woods said he had seen the process before but that “it was nice to come out and explore the area.”
“I’ve seen the ‘drill’ before, but I enjoy doing outdoor things and it’s nice to come out here and see what they have,” Woods said.
Logan said he learned that five layers of wood had to be pierced before reaching the sap and added that he better appreciates what goes on his pancakes.
“You could buy syrup in the store, but this type is for free,” he said.
David Sharos is a freelance reporter
