Sap is flowing for maple sugar makers

NORTH GROSVENORDALE, Conn. (WTNH) -- The conditions are just right and maple sugar makers are taking advantage of them.

Any good maple sugar maker can tell you it all boils down to cold nights and warm days to get the sap flowing, and this year they're making a lot of maple syrup.

Fabyan Sugar Shack in North Grosvenordale plans to produce a thousand gallons of the sweet stuff this season.

"Sap comes into the front pan and that's where it finishes right off into syrup."

Gary Durand says this year is much better than last year.

"Last year there was really no sugar content in the sap because it never got cold enough," said Durand, Fabyan Sugar Shack.

This year cold nights and warm days means movement in the trees and Durand is tapping into it.

"We probably have about 8-9 miles of main lines in the woods," Durand said.

A modern day way to collect the sap.

"This is the old style taps how they first started," Durand said. "You would take a branch from the tree and you would cut it and drill a hole through the center and then hand whittle it down."

The real key to modernizing this operation and making it even more efficient is the reverse osmosis machine. It takes out all the excess water. So instead of having to boil 40 gallons of sap to get one gallon of maple syrup, he only has to boil seven gallons of sap.

And that means less boiling time.

And a lot less wood to run his sugar shack.

"It's sweet stuff huh?"

"This is some very sweet stuff."

Most of the maple syrup is bottled, but Durand also makes maple candy and his own vinaigrette.

And it's the Maple Peanut Brittle which is a favorite at Fabyan Sugar Shack.