The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of . . . Syrup
When the Trapp Family (inspiration for the ‘Sound of Music’) fled Austria ahead of WWII and Adolph Hitler, they ultimately settled in Stowe, Vermont. Today, as part of the larger Trapp Family Lodge, there’s a traditional ‘sugar-house’ operation to visit and experience. Every March through April, when the days become longer and warmer, the tradition of maple sugaring begins again. The folks at the Lodge still “sugar” the old-fashioned way, using buckets to collect sap and a wood-fired evaporator to boil off the water and produce, a pancake’s best friend, Vermont maple syrup. It takes an astonishing 40 gallons of sap to make just one gallon of syrup. The production varies from year to year, depending on the weather and other variables. Currently 1200 tree taps are set annually, averaging 300 gallons of syrup per year.
