To Aunt Jemima, Log Cabin, & Mrs. Butterworth…

all I can say is, “Eat your heart out!”

It’s maple syrup season in Michigan & there’s no better maple syrup in the world than the syrup of northern Michigan. If you know the movie Elf, you know that Will Ferrell loved maple syrup, even on his spaghetti. I don’t go that far but I consider myself a connoisseur of all things maple after a lifetime of pancake, waffle, & ice cream eating.

Here’s the scoop! (no pun intended)

• You can thank northeastern Native Americans for discovering this sweet treat.
• Maple syrup is made from the sap of….you guessed it….maple trees. Sugar, red & black maple trees to be exact.
• Sap is processed in a “sugar bush” & involves a huge amount of work.
• Sap has to be collected during the spring when the daytime temps cause the sap to rise in the trunks, but before the trees begin to bud.
• The best maple syrup is made from sap boiled outside over an open flame.
• Maple syrup is classified according to color & density, but it really all comes down to personal taste.
• Because its labor intensive, maple syrup is costly, but absolutely worth it.

If you’re out & about the next few weeks & see someone pounding on a maple tree or hanging a bucket on it, or you see plastic lines running between a stand of trees, you should consider stopping & hollering “Thank You”!

If you have the opportunity to lend a hand at a sugar bush, don’t think twice, jump on it!

The best part? Digging into a tall stack of pancakes fragrant, hot off the griddle, & smothered in maple syrup…

or waffles, or ice cream, or oatmeal, or granola, or muffins, or cornbread, or…

you get the idea!

Me…I’m off to find my pancake mix!