by Bea Peterson
Dick Ogden, his brother Walter and his son Dick have finished boiling maple sap into syrup for this year. The senior Dick Ogden said their boiling season was 31 days this year, from the beginning of March to April 4. Other producers are still boiling, he said, though he expects by mid-week this week, weather-wise, it will be the end of it for all the syrup makers.
The ice storm shut down the boiling at Running Brook Sugar Shack in Hoosick for four days while they repaired the damaged lines in one sugar bush or wood lot. Ogden said the season started slow,
but, once up to speed, they boiled 25 days straight, accumulating 128 boiling hours. Last year their season was 35 days and 99 boiling hours.
No Light Amber
The Ogden brothers said they had no light amber this year and no commercial grade used in maple flavored products. “All our syrup was grade A medium and dark amber and some B grade,” said Dick.
Now that the boiling is finished there is still plenty of work to do. At the moment they are busy going from tree to tree flushing out the plastic lines. Then the sugar house has to be cleaned and made ready for next season. They already have a pile of wood cut outside the sugar house that has to be split. And, lastly, they have to pour their product from 100 gallon containers into bottles and jugs from half pint to gallon size.
It takes approximately 43 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. Add the required equipment, the labor involved and it is no wonder a gallon of syrup is something to be treasured, savored and enjoyed from one season to the next.
