Tapping NH's Giving Trees

While many NH residents are ready for some bare ground and warm days, maple syrup producers want the snow and cold to stick around. That's because deep snow, sunny days and cold nights create ideal conditions for maple syrup production. Maple sugaring runs from mid-February to mid-April, attracting tourists to the state and generating more than $5 million from tourism and sales of maple syrup, maple candy and other products, says Peter Thomson, president of the NH Maple Producers Association.

New Hampshire has more than 900 maple producers, who made 87,000 gallons of maple syrup last year. Thompson expects this year's harvest to be even higher, possibly topping 100,000 gallons.

The maple tree is also emblematic of NH's fall foliage.

"The sugar maple is one of the most colorful trees in the forest," says Lorraine Merrill, commissioner of the NH Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food. "Maple syrup is a signature product. It's a part of the state's identity." Sugar maples-and their signature bright red leaves-grow only in the Northeastern United States, across Michigan and parts of Canada, says Merrill.

Producers in NH range from those tapping 50,000 trees to those tapping a dozen. Bascom Maple Farms in Alstead, the state' largest producer, ships its syrup to Asia and Europe.

But maples are not the only trees on tap this year. David Moore of The Crooked Chimney in Lee produces birch syrup mostly from the paper birch tree. Moore taps 200 trees and sold his first batch of syrup in 2010. He produced 5.5 gallons last year and sold it in 8 oz. jars at farmers markets and to a few restaurants. Birch syrup, he says, is admittedly harder to produce-it takes over 100 gallons of sap for one gallon of birch syrup versus 40 gallons of sap for one gallon of maple syrup.

But it gets him outside and has a different market from maple syrup.

"People describe it as molassesy," Moore says. "It is not something you pour over pancakes. It is more of something you cook with or make a salad dressing out of.
It's fun to introduce a new product, see people's reactions and hear what they are using it for," he says, adding he hopes it will be profitable in a few years.
Thomson, a maple producer, doesn't see birch syrup giving maple syrup producers a run for their money.

"There are thousands and thousands of maple trees that haven't been tapped in our forests," he says.

For more information about maple syrup, visit www.nhmapleproducers.com. For more information about The Crooked Chimney or Bascom Maple Farms, visit www.crookedchimneysyrup.com or www.bascommaple.com.