It's a breakfast staple that can add a sweet taste to any meal. But how does local maple syrup make its way from the tree to the table? In honor of New York's Maple Weekend our Matt Jarchow went looking for the answer.
BERKSHIRE, N.Y. -- Dan Beasley spends his days in the Sweet Tree's Sugarhouse, making homemade maple syrup.
"It's a labor of love," said Beasley. "With the work involved, if you really didn't enjoy it, you would not do it."
And there's lots to do.
"It's a lot more than just hanging a bucket on a tree and expecting it to fill up with syrup," said Beasley.
But it does start with the tree, thousands of them. Sap is drawn from the trees and sent into the Sugarhouse. There, Beasley turns sap into syrup.
"This thing when it's working properly will evaporate about 110 gallons of sap per hour, and with our concentrate we draw off about 10 gallons or so of syrup an hour," Beasley said.
Over and over again.
"We've ended up making about 100 gallons of syrup thus far, but my goal this year is between five and six hundred gallons," Beasley said.
That's hundreds of gallons for customers to enjoy throughout the year, but this weekend many get a chance to see how its made. Dan's wife Ruth said that's what Maple Weekend is all about.
"It gives us a chance to actually teach people what the process is and how much it takes," said Ruth.
The weekend gives visitors a whole new appreciation of homemade maple syrup.
"Most people are amazed actually to see the process in action," said Ruth.
After sliding its way through the process, the syrup is ready for bottling. Each batch brings it's own color and flavor, but it's all delicious.
If you'd like an up close look at how Sweet Trees or other producers make their syrup, you can visit them next Saturday or Sunday when Maple Weekend continues.