Shelburne Farms Meander
It has been far too long since I took a stroll at Shelburne Farms. I can't even remember the last time. So this weekend, with the warm weather and the Maple Open House Weekend, it was the perfect time to indulge an aimless wander.
Being uber dorks, Dan and I snapped simultaneous pics with our own cameras (pguon) and took the long trail through to the inn. It is lucky we had on our mud boots cause that trail is sloppy. If we had gotten up just a little bit sooner, we might have made the 4-H Club's pancake breakfast. Mmmm...
We stopped for maple syrup shots on the way into the woods and on the way out. I think I downed about 4 shots total. Za za zing!
I talked to Mark the Sugarmaker for a long time about the complex and nuanced Art of Sugaring (you, too, can learn Sugaring 101 in the Stuck in Vermont vlog this week, coming out Wed).
For instance, did you know that it takes about 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup? And did you know that sugarmakers stay up into the wee hours burning the sugar water down to maple suger and arguing about which grade of syrup tastes best?
After strolling, snapping, syruping and vlogging, we headed to Shelburne to soak up the bar atmosphere at The Bearded Frog. After all that walking, we had worked up quite an appetite and proceeded to gorge ourselves on Bloody Marys and cheeseburgers.
Oddly enough, this meal didn't seem to upset my tummy when I performed The Trojan Women hours later. In fact, it was poor Alex who had to rush off the stage to puke mid-show. I think it was the maple syrup that kept me together. That stuff is like nectar of the Gods.
5 comments:
Grade B Medium Amber all the way. Taste the tree.
i was at the sugar shack at shelburne farms on sunday. yummee.
My first attempt at kindergarten -- yes, I'm so dumb that I failed kindergarten -- we tapped a tree at the school and a few weeks later we made maple syrup. We then took some snow and poured the syrup on it. It was tasty. Try it sometime. Just watch out for the already flavored yellow snow.
We also made curds and weigh. Even back then I was repulsed by all foods white and creamy, so I refused to try it. My teacher wouldn't let me go play until I ate it. I sat there for an hour and finally gave in. That wasn't so tasty.
I need to go make waffles.
Did you know that the grades of syrup have changed over the years? What used to be grade C is now grade B (the most delicious of all the grades), what used to be grade B is now grade A dark amber, and what used to be grade A is now grade A medium or grade A light amber. The lower the grade, the more concentrated the vitamins and minerals. Granted, the book where I read where the grades changed is from the mid-70s, but it's still worth noting.
mmmm...syrup contains vitamins and minerals? who knew!? makes sense though. i wanna be at one of those late-night sugarer arguments when they debate which grade is better...as long as i can do shots of syrup while we're gabbing! ;)
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