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Spring, 2010 Finally, a year for the record books! Production season 2009 was a year to remember and it all started late afternoon on Tuesday March 10th. It took awhile for the day to warm up on that Tuesday, but once it did, the sap started to flow and it continued steady and strong for hours! The night did not cool down therefore the sap flowed all night long (not the traditional time of day for sap to flow). We had to work through the night picking up the sap in the maple bush and bringing it to our storage tanks at the sugarhouse to prevent the tanks in the bush from overflowing. When we started to boil at 9am on Wednesday March 11th all of our storage tanks (both in the maple bush and at the sugar house) were full, and the sap was still flowing strong! Stick after stick of firewood was thrown into the firebox of the evaporator; gallon upon gallon of sap was filtered and boiled, resulting in litre after litre of pure, delicious maple syrup being drawn off the finishing pan. At 7pm that night, the vacuum pumps (connected to the pipeline) were turned off as the outside temperature was finally starting to freeze. But our day was not over yet as the storage tanks were still full of sap. It wasn't until 2am when we finally walked out of the sugarhouse and could call it quits for the day! But it was all worth it, as after boiling for 17 hours straight we had produced 840L of pure maple syrup in one day! Our new record! Beating our previous record of 600L. So in short, March 11th 2009 was a huge start to our production year and when we had our last boil on April 1st we were very pleased with our production season for 2009. Thank you Mother Nature! We came across a maple salmon recipe this summer and fell in love with it. Many times it was used on the BBQ this past summer as well as at our Christmas Dinner. So easy and so delicious; the hardest part is remembering to soak the cedar plank a few hours prior to cooking! Cedar-Planked Salmon with Maple-Mustard Glaze
Soak one 12 x 7 inch untreated cedar plank in water for 30 minutes or for up to 24 hours. Place salmon on top. In small bowl, whisk together maple syrup, mustard, salt and pepper. Brush half over salmon. Place plank on grill over medium-high heat. Close lid and cook, brushing once with remaining maple mixture, until fish flakes easily when tested, 20 to 25 minutes. As we begin our 16th consecutive year of making maple syrup, we look forward to seeing both new and old friends finding their way to our sugarhouse for a taste of our sweet, delicious pure maple syrup. When you pull into the driveway this year, you will see a new structure! Bill started a huge project very shortly after our production season last year. And since, has been very involved in this project -- building a new home! The exciting part of this for the business is the structure is not only a home, but also a new place of business as a maple kitchen and maple office has been incorporated into the design. At the time of this writing, Bill has not yet moved in, but he sure is hoping to before tapping begins! We invite you to join us on one of the Saturdays for a maple related activity or during the week for a visit and/or purchase of the new seasons' flavour. |
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41 Leacock Road, RR 1
Frankville, Ontario
K0E 1H0
For more information:
Tel: 613-275-2893
Toll Free 1-877-440-7887
email: mail@gibbonsmaple.com
