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Phillip McIntosh, a historical interpreter at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, recently tapped one of the many maple trees on the Mercer County grounds. Sap collected from the trees is boiled down to make syrup. Visitors can taste the sweet results of the process during Maple Syrup Breakfast hosted at Shaker Village every Saturday morning in March. (February 10, 2012) |
PLEASANT HILL — The sap is rising at Shaker Village and the tasty results can be tasted at the March Maple Syrup Breakfasts.
"You've never had real maple syrup until you've had maple syrup straight from the tree,” said Aimee Reed Darnell, publicist for Shaker Village. “It's all natural, nothing added — just 100 percent pure, fresh maple syrup. It doesn't get any better than that."
The maple syrup season is from late February through early April. Darnell said it takes about 35-40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup.
"These breakfasts are a great way to see the connection between the food and the plate on which it's being served,” Darnell noted. “You can enjoy the sweet, delicious maple syrup and then step outside to see our interpreters boiling the sap that was just collected from our maple trees."
Here’s the process of creating maple syrup:
Step 1: Drill a two-inch deep hole into the maple tree.
Step 2: Drive the tap into the tree using a mallet.
Step 3: Hang a container (bucket) onto the tap to collect the sap — make sure it is covered to keep out debris and small critters.
Step 4: Collect the sap from the bucket.
Step 5: Boil the sap (starting outdoors). Add cold sap as the boiling sap begins to evaporate.
Step 6: Filter boiling sap through a paper filter into a glass jar.
Step 7: Allow to cool.
Step 8: Pour over pancakes!
SO YOU KNOW
Maple Syrup Breakfasts
Saturday mornings in March / $10.95 7:30 - 10 a.m.
Sit down to a buffet breakfast of buttermilk pancakes and fried cornmeal mush with hot maple syrup and butter, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, cinnamon and bourbon-smothered apples, fried potatoes, juice and coffee. After breakfast, step out into the village to see how sap collected from maple trees on the grounds is cooked down to make the freshly-tapped syrup.
For reservations, call 800.734.5611 ext. 360
Other March Specials:
Friday Night Fish Fries
Friday nights in March / $12.95
5:30 - 8 p.m.
Lasagna Mondays
Monday nights in March / $12.95 5:30 - 8 p.m.
