March is Massachusetts Maple Syrup Month

The following story originally appeared in The Portal, the newsletter of the Medfield Historical Society. It was written by curator Cheryl O'Malley. 

When the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts in 1620, maple sugaring was already in full swing among the Native Americans.This activity has been going on for centuries, but its beginnings are unknown. Several legends and myths surround its origins, but none have been authenticated.

One Native American fable is that the chief's venison was cooked with maple syrup instead of water. This might have originated from another Native American legend about Moqua, wife of the Indian hunter Woksis. She was cooking her husband a moose dinner and at the same time working on her quill work. When she checked the moose, the water had completely boiled out of the pot. She had no time to melt snow, so she poured some maple sap, which had been collected for a drink, into the pot. Woksis was so taken by the meal that he licked the pot clean of the gooey substance.

It is more probable that the legend derives from the story of a chief's wife leaving a pot under a broken maple tree branch and on her return finding the pot had collected sap. She cooked the venison in the sappy pot and it boiled down to a sweet glaze which smelled delightful while cooking. The chief was so pleased that he named the substance "sinzibuckwud," meaning "drawn from trees", which was the Native American's word for maple syrup.

Another myth is that a young boy discovered maple sap through his observation of a squirrel in early spring. The boy watched a squirrel biting off small branches from a sugar maple tree and drinking the liquid that seeped from the branches. He decided he would try it for himself. To his surprise the sap was sweet and tasty. This discovery is believed to have contributed to the prevention of scurvy (a disease caused by the lack of vitamin C during the winter months) among the Native Americans and the Colonists.

The Algonquians are known to have made V-shaped holes, using primitive stone tools, in maple trees, and then inserting a creased reed or bark into this hole to form a spout. The sap followed this spout into a wooden bucket that would be left outside to freeze. Once the frozen layer was formed, it was removed and a hot cooking stone would be dropped into the bucket to make the sap into maple sugar. The Algonquians also believed that maple syrup had medicinal properties that gave one energy and nutrition.

Today, the first sign of spring is marked by sugar makers across New England heading to the woods on their annual pilgrimage to tap their sugar maple trees. This usually takes place in February but, if the winter has been mild, it could start as early as late January. These sugar makers observe nature's signal, which is known as "sugar weather" (when the days are warm and the nights are below freezing), to know when the time is right. As soon as the sap is running they go to work.

First, they forage for sugar maple trees, ten inches in diameter, healthy and about 40 years old in which to tap. They drill a waist high three-inch hole in the trunk of these trees. They then insert a metal spout called a "spile" and hang a bucket with a lid, from that spile. I promise that no trees are harmed in this process. Quite the contrary, one tree can supply sap for more than 100 years. Every season, each tap hole can produce around ten gallons of sap, which in turn produces about a quart of maple syrup. The total amount collected is completely dependent upon the weather.

The sap from these buckets is collected in a sap gathering tank, and this tank is driven through the "sugar bush" on a tractor. In the old days horses or oxen pulling sleds or wagons were used. The sap is then taken to the sugar house, which consists of an evaporator (flat pans on which to place the sap), firebox (where the fuel is burned) and a vent with a cupola attached to the roof. The smoke from this vent is the signal to the locals that the maple syrup season has begun. It seems we have made a full circle back to the Native American tradition of using smoke signals to communicate.

Once in the sugar house, the sap is poured into a storage tank. The sap does not remain in this tank very long since the syrup has a better quality if it is boiled down shortly after gathering.

From the storage tank the sap is poured into an evaporator above a fire. As the sap is boiled down and reaches 219.5 degrees it becomes maple syrup. The syrup is drained from the evaporator, filtered and bottled. It is now ready to be enjoyed by all maple syrup enthusiasts.

Massachusetts has a month-long celebration called "All Things Maple." It takes place every year with festivals and sugar house openings across the state. At these sugar houses, you can experience the maple sugaring process, and perhaps taste and purchase some of the sweet maple delights.

Sugar houses in our area:

• Natick Community Farm, Natick 
• Massachusetts Audubon - Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary, Sharon
• Blue Hills Sanctuary, Milton 
• Land's Sake Sugar Shack, Weston

For more information, contact the Medfield Historical Society.