Company blog

Most of us who live in the North (and many who live in the South, given the winter we’ve had) have had the experience of thawing a frozen pipe with the help of an electric hair dryer.

This is a picture of the same principle, applied on a somewhat larger scale to a “main line”* in the CE Maple sugarbush.

Though it got fairly warm today – something like 45⁰ F – it was very cold this morning (like 12⁰) and this line runs under the access road…in the...

It’s March 11 and suddenly everything is different. It was eight degrees with two feet of snow, for Thanksgiving. Now, nearly four months later, two weeks into March, it has been cold cold cold with clean dry snow, ever since. It’s been a long haul. Yesterday the relentless cold was forgotten as the sun shone on a thawing world. The whole day felt like a party.

Last week the sugar makers were all tapped out by Town Meeting Day. When I was a...

Catherine and I have recently gotten involved in an ongoing effort to monitor vernal pools in our area, part of a broader region-wide citizen-science project.  (It’s wonderful what you can find the time for when you retire!)  As a consequence we have become aware of the challenges that amphibians (frogs and salamanders) face when breeding time comes in early spring.

A vernal pool above the sugarbush

One of these challenges is migration – the frogs...

In the early days of this blog -- back in December 2010 -- I wrote about baking a pecan pie with maple syrup.

I've made a few pecan pies since then (they continue to be a favorite at family gatherings) and I've made a few refinements.  And last Christmas my niece Sophie gifted me with a splendid cookbook entitled "Pie" by Ken Haedrich, from which I learned an important secret about pecan pie.

It's all about browned butter.

So herewith I offer...

As reported in a previous blog entry, the sugaring season got off to a slow start due mainly to cold weather.

Well, I'm pleased to report that the season was actually quite good in the end:  we managed to avoid the "sudden death" of a changeover to warm weather -- that is, the nights continued to drop below freezing even as the days warmed up.  Talked to Fraser on Sunday, and he says the season kept going later than he can remember it -- he was...

The Hidden Springs Maple website has a new look and new features.

We've been working on this for more than six months, and we're pretty pleased with the results.  We hope that you will be, too.

Some of the new features:

• You will find it much easier to specify the syrup grade you want, including specifying a "mixed case".
• Your personal account login* will now permit you to:
  • View past order information, including tracking numbers for orders in...

As we indicated in our Spring newsletter, it's been a cold spring and this has had an impact on the sugaring season (as we call it in Vermont.)  In order to gather the sap to make maple syrup, you need a particular type of weather -- chiefly warm sunny* days with nights below freezing -- and this kind of weather is typical in Vermont from early March through mid-April (roughly.)

I just got this photo from one of our customers (the cat’s owner, not the cat, at least not yet:) ) and just had to post it!
This customer has a website that has lots of vegan recipes on it. I haven’t looked through them all, but there are probably some that call for maple syrup…so take a look.

http://theveganhucklebuck.blogspot.com/?m=1 

Maple Pecan Scones
Ingredients:
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup pecans, chopped small-ish
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup butter
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup + a couple of tablespoons dark maple syrup (Grade B ideally)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a large baking sheet.
In a large bowl, combine flour, pecans, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. With pastry blender, two knives, or your...

Bacon Candy

Special equipment: You’ll need a pastry brush for this recipe.

You can spice up your candied bacon by adding chili powder, paprika, pepper, or any other spices that you like.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• About 1/2 pound bacon

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle.
2. Mix together the brown sugar and maple syrup in a medium bowl; set aside.
3. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil...