Photograph by Daesha Harris
In the Adirondacks, maple, a staple used by the indigenous people of our region thousands of years ago, is embedded in our flavor landscape. Today—from backyard taps and stove-top boiling to networks of tubing and high-tech evaporators—the process of extracting sap from Acer saccharum and transforming it into syrup endures, as does our love of that sweet liquid gold.
A Family Affair
Don Monica recalls breakfasts at his French-Canadian grandfather’s dairy farm in Mooers Forks: “Always in the morning there was pure maple syrup for French toast and pancakes—that’s what I grew up on.” All the North Country dairy farmers had sugarhouses at that time, says Monica, and “if [the syrup] didn’t sell here, they’d put it on boxcars to Vermont.”
These days 72-year-old Monica taps 2,400 trees and makes more than 500 gallons of maple syrup a season at his Maple Valley Farm, in Corinth. His operation’s been going strong since 1962, drawing customers who come year after year to buy syrup and sweet treats.
Maple Valley Farm is a family affair—Monica’s sons Scott and Tim run the evaporator and, during Maple Weekends, give sugar-bush tours. When the doors open to the public—some seasons catering to as many as 1,500 visitors—brother Joe helps out, sister-in-law Mel cooks up pancakes, and other members of the family sell crafts and pitch in.
Eventually, says Monica, his sons will take over the ever-expanding operation (at press time Monica is eyeing a 160-acre chunk of land that’ll add 8,000 taps). And he has high hopes for granddaughter Abby, who just graduated from high school. “She knows all the things that have to be done,” he says. She’d represent the sixth generation of Monicas making maple syrup. “It’s nice to have my children and grandchildren carry on something that I loved and they love.”
Maple Valley Farm (84 Harris Road, Corinth; 518-654-8775; on Facebook) is part of New York State Maple Producers Association’s Maple Weekends.
It Takes a Village
The Wild Center’s Community Maple Program merges a celebration of the region’s woods-work heritage—more than a century of lumbering and sugaring in Tupper Lake—with the science and technology behind transforming sugar maple sap into one of our region’s most prized commodities.
The natural history museum invites the public to workshops, pancake breakfasts, and to bring the sap from their backyards (taps, buckets and on-site assistance are supplied) to the Wild Center’s evaporator. Guests can tour the sugar shack, taste samples (including maple cotton candy) and share their stories about maple sugaring in the Adirondacks.
The Wild Center (45 Museum Drive, Tupper Lake; 518-359-7800; www.wildcenter.org) is part of New York State Maple Weekends.
New York State Maple Weekends happen in late March. Learn about tours, tastings and a full list of participating producers at mapleweekend.com.
Sugar bushes in Thurman begin the celebration a weekend early. Visit www.thurmanmapledays.com for details.
