Maple Syrup

I love maple syrup; the real stuff, the hardcore from-the-maple-tree, genuine golden grade A syrup. I've been hopelessly spoiled by the real deal ever since Mom, in the late 1970's, started ordering maple syrup from upstate New York by the gallon. When the gallon arrived she was quick to share bottles of syrup with family. Referring to the process as "canning up" the syrup, she would bring the entire gallon to a boil and then pour the syrup into quart sized or smaller mason jars. Some years she ordered 2 gallons of syrup and the line of "canned up" maple bliss in her pantry was a beautiful sight.

Soak up your pancakes and waffles in this heavenly drizzle and you'll soon have little use for Aunt Jemima ever again. No comparison.

This year our supply of maple bliss drifted to a dangerous low. We'd been working off a gallon purchased several years ago and were down to the last few ounces. Mom hasn't been in any position to order more but fortunately, buried in her flip file of addresses was the name and phone number of her contact in Attica, NY. Terry Harder.

Score.

After a few phone calls, leaving messages for Terry and getting no response I was ready to conclude he was no longer in the business of selling and shipping maple syrup. But then he called and said, "Oh, yeah; I remember your Mom very well. And, I'm glad to hear that at age 92 she can still enjoy maple syrup. I have a gallon right here on my counter and can send it out UPS tomorrow. Just send me a check for the amount when you receive the syrup."

Wow. The gallon arrived with a hand written bill three days later. Mom was delighted and reminded me to "can up that syrup" right away. So, I did.Factoid: It takes 40 quarts of maple sap to produce 1 quart of maple syrup.