It's Maple Time in Vermont!
The production of maple syrup, known as “sugaring“, takes place just as winter is losing its grip. The maple producers, or “sugarmakers“ look for weather that alternates between freezing and thawing; this is what makes the sap flow. In Vermont, sugaring weather usually starts around the beginning of March, and normally lasts for about six weeks. Before the sugarmakers can produce syrup they must tap their trees and this happens during January and February. Snow may lay deep in the woods at the start of sugaring, but the warm sun on the branches of the maple trees causes the long dormancy of winter to give way and the sugaring season to begin.
 Welcome to the official Vermont maple syrup website, brought to you by the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers' Association and the Vermont Maple Foundation. Vermont is the largest producer of pure maple syrup in the U.S. and our climate and soil conditions are perfect for producing this amazing product from the sap of the sugar maple. Vermont's maple syrup is 100% natural and we take our syrup so seriously that we were the first to establish a mandatory maple law to establish purity and quality regulations. To learn about how Vermont maple syrup is produced, visit our pages describing How Vermont Maple Syrup is Made.
When you travel to Vermont be sure to include time for visiting sugarhouses -- each one is different and has its own personality. The annual Vermont Maple Open House Weekend is a wonderful opportunity to visit sugarhouses all over the state, March 26-28. From small, traditional sugarhouses deep in the woods to large sugarhouses using equipment with the latest technology, you can watch the pride and care that goes into producing Vermont's first agricultural product of the year. Vermont maple syrup is available in four grades, and is packed in plastic and glass containers in a variety of sizes. Sugarmakers also produce many fine food products made from pure maple syrup which can be purchased from the maple farmers listed on this website.
Many products, using maple syrup as a principal ingredient, are offered today. These include maple salad dressings, maple coated nuts, maple cotton candy, maple snow cones, maple creemees, maple lollipops, maple jelly, and more. Visit our Cooking with Maple pages to see many more ideas for incorporating pure Vermont Maple Syrup into your favorite dishes, or try a new recipe included in these pages or available in the Official Vermont Maple Cookbook.
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