maple syrup in Vermont

I feel a deep, center-of-my-bones connection to maple syrup, but why? It’s such a simple thing yet such a big deal here in Vermont. As a lifelong Vermonter I have always been interested, and in awe of sugaring season. Vermont crushes maple syrup production in the United States by a hefty margin every year. We do that even though we are one of the smallest states. There is an interesting history to this little state’s dominance in production and I love learning about how things got to where they are today. The tradition that coincides with the production of maple syrup here is hard to ignore. Simply driving through the state, you can’t help but notice the sugar houses, the maple related place names, the sap tubing that is visible from road ways and the maple creemee’s for sale in nearly every town. The history that got Vermont to its present maple identity is noteworthy and personally I find it interesting.

“That tree has sap different from that of all the others. There is made from it a beverage very pleasing to drink”

— Nicholas Denys in 1672

an early history of syrup in Vermont

Range of the Sugar Maple Tree — This Map from the USDA shows where the sugar maple tree grows in the United States. This is representative of where maple syrup can be produced in the U.S.

Maple tree sap and its appealing sweet flavor was discovered long before this region was called Vermont. Abenaki Native Americans introduced settlers to the flowing sap in the spring season. There are written records from early settlers recording their delight with the new nectar. In 1672 Nicholas Denys wrote about the maple trees he discovered “That tree has sap different from that of all the others. There is made from it a beverage very pleasing to drink”. Prior to coming to North America, Europeans had never seen a maple tree as they only grow in a small part of the world. The Abenaki exposed settlers to the wonders of maple sap and syrup. The Abenaki used stone hatchets to chop a V groove in the bark and collected the sap in birch bark vessels of varying shapes and sizes. They concentrated it by putting hot rocks taken out of a fire into the sap. This evaporated water, concentrated the sap and left behind a more flavorful and sweeter sap. They didn’t know it at the time but they were creating an early version of what we call maple syrup today.

Settlers refined the techniques used to harvest and process sap. Instead of the large V groove they created smaller wounds in the bark to collect sap. Wooden buckets were developed and used to collect and transport the sap. Rather than using hot rocks, metal kettles were suspended over a fire to evaporate the water out of the sap. The sap was sometimes boiled down so much the settlers were able to make granular sugar out of the sap. This sugar was traded for goods from other regions. Farmers would keep some sugar and syrup for their own and use the rest as a form of currency to get provisions. Maple sugar gained early recognition by a familiar name; Thomas Jefferson was an early fan of maple products.

In 1790 Thomas Jefferson purchased 50 pounds of refined maple sugar and he exclusively used it for all his sweetening needs, he even used it in his coffee as many people do today. He planted a maple orchard at his home in Monticello Virginia but was not able to make it productive for sugaring. Most of the trees died but some did live. The last tree made it until 1980 before it too died. Thomas Jefferson was a great supporter of the sugar made from maple tree sap. He had visions of exporting it and encouraged farmers of the time to maintain sugar orchards.

One gallon of our Vermont Maple Syrup — One of the 2.55 million gallons of syrup produced in Vermont during the 2022 season.

As time passed the landscape of Vermont changed. In the 1800’s whole forests, and unfortunately maple trees too, were cleared to make way for other agriculture like sheep farming. Most stands of maple trees were left high on the hills where clearing the trees was not feasible at the time. Maple sugaring techniques continued to be refined and production increased. The economic importance of maple sugar was noticeable and forests began to be spared from clearing. Syrup began to be recognized as a useful and valuable product and was brought to markets far away with the granular sugar. Producers started to filter the sap and eventually the syrup as well to create a higher quality product. All of these small steps helped to create the maple industry as we know it today.

present day maple sugaring in vermont

Currently Vermont makes more than half the maple syrup produced in the United States. This last season Vermont beat its old record by producing 2.55 million gallons of liquid gold from 6.65 million taps. New York was the next leading state with 845,000 gallons, followed by Maine with 672,000 gallons. New Hampshire made some too, about 167,000 gallons. This sounds like a lot of maple syrup but it barely keeps up with global demand, especially after a poor season in 2021. There are only a handful of states that can produce maple syrup in the U.S. as the maple tree does not grow everywhere.

The maple tree; giver of sap, our most precious resource as sugar makers. This beautiful and proud tree only grows in the northeastern U.S. and in the upper Midwest. It also grows above the Canadian border adjacent to those regions (Canada made around 19 million gallons in 2022, also a record). Those are the only syrup producing regions in the world. Vermont is the place in that region I’m glad to call home. This is where we have set up shop and made the decision to plunge head first into the maple industry. Wild Woods Maple is humbled to be a small chapter in the history of maple syrup production. We are excited to do our part to keep up Vermont’s proud tradition by producing some of the best maple syrup from our own sugar maples.