Maple Sugaring: It All Boils Down to a 

Labor of Love

The taps are in the trees. All around southern New England sap is being collected. And boiled. And boiled. And boiled.

Did you know it takes 55 gallons of maple sap, which has to be boiled for nearly four hours, to make one gallon of maple syrup?

“It’s really a labor of love,” Al Scheibenflug, of Kingston, told a group of visitors gathered in his steamy sugarhouse during a recent school field-trip.

A few minutes earlier the group gathered around a large maple tree in Scheibenflug’s yard to taste the sap straight as it dripped from the tap.

Many of the young visitors proclaimed that it tastes just like water, while a few reported detecting a slight sweetness.

They also got a look at the tank into which the sap is poured after it is collected and the giant vats where it is boiled down into syrup.

Maple sugaring is a centuries-old practice that takes place in the early spring, when the sap in the maple trees rises, bringing energy and nutrients to the branches where buds and leaves will soon appear.

And just in case you need a reason beyond taste to enjoy fresh, local maple syrup, author and naturopathic physician Kimberly Beauchamp of North Kingstown assures us that there are health benefits as well.

“Real maple syrup beats the artificial stuff in more than just flavor,” Beauchamp says. “Maple syrup is high in manganese and zinc, both of which are powerful antioxidants and can help stimulate the immune system.”

The sap usually runs well into April and many sugarhouses throughout the state are open to visitors (hours vary – it’s best to call ahead).

For a list of sugarhouses in southern New England go to www.farmfresh.org and click on maple syrup.

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