maple sugar – Baltimore Magazine https://www.baltimoremagazine.com The Best of Baltimore Since 1907 Fri, 19 Jan 2024 17:58:54 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/cropped-favicon-32x32.png maple sugar – Baltimore Magazine https://www.baltimoremagazine.com 32 32 Maple Sugaring Has Deep Roots in Western Maryland https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/fooddrink/maple-sugaring-maryland-history-winter-events-baltimore/ Fri, 19 Jan 2024 17:58:54 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?post_type=article&p=152400
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Maple sugaring has been a way of life for more than a century on farms in Western Maryland, once one of the centers of the maple syrup industry in the U.S. In the 1930s, there were an estimated 40 to 50 commercial tree-tapping operations in Garrett County alone, producing 200,000 gallons of maple sugar annually.

Though on a smaller scale, maple sugaring still thrives in the state’s western counties. Family-owned Steyers Brothers Maple in Oakland, for example, has been producing its Garrett County Pure Maple Syrup for more than 100 years—and is open to visitors today. (They also make a nice maple sugar candy.) The Casselman Inn, built in 1842 along the historic National Trail, continues to serve its own maple syrup (and homemade apple butter) with their buckwheat cakes, French toast, and biscuits. The eco-friendly Savage River Lodge in Allegany County uses its own maple syrup to flavor its popular crème brûlée. At Cunningham State Falls State Park in Frederick County, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources hosts the nearly 50-year-old annual Maple Syrup Festival.

But Baltimoreans need not travel that far for introduction to maple sugaring, a practice which originates with North America’s Indigenous peoples. Beginning after President’s Day, many local parks offer annual maple sugaring events, where participants can observe the tapping of trees and the collection of sap, which begins to flow when temperatures fall below freezing at night and then rise again during the day.

The best part? Learning how the sap—98-percent water, two-percent sugar—gets boiled down to golden brown syrup, and then sampling maple candies and syrup and pancakes afterward. Among other destinations, check for times and dates at: Ladew Topiary Gardens in Monkton, Oregon Ridge Nature Center in Cockeysville, Irvine Nature Center in Owings Mills, Cromwell Valley Park in Parkville, Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum in Catonsville, and Marshy Point Nature Center in Middle River.

Explore more winter outdoor activities from our Winter Wonderland issue, here. 

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]]> Maple Sugar Tours on Tap This Weekend https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/community/sweet-trees-are-made-of-this-maple-sugar-tours-on-tap-this-weekend/ Tue, 24 Feb 2015 12:45:00 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?p=69603 Continued]]> A half-century ago, Ladew Topiary Gardens founder Harvey Ladew placed several sugar maples on his property’s hills purely for aesthetic purposes. But blowing seeds from those trees eventually produced other maples in the woods away from the gardens—and now, decades later, they are old enough to be tapped. That’s called a happy accident.

This upcoming weekend, Ladew hosts family-friendly maple tree tours on Saturday and Sunday, where participants can observe tapped trees, collect a little sap, and then learn how to boil it down to golden brown syrup. And oh yeah, there’ll be some silver dollar pancakes and samples afterward.

Old Harvey’s acres in Monkton aren’t the only place offering maple-sugaring opportunities, however. The Oregon Ridge Nature Center in Cockeysville hosts maple sugar hikes and syrup tasting this weekend as well with pure maple syrup available for purchase in the center’s gift shop.

Even closer to Baltimore City, just outside the city limits, Robert E. Lee Park rangers will also lead maple sugaring tours, cooking, and tasting opportunities this Saturday and Sunday.

The 116-acre Irvine Nature Center in Owings Mills hosts similar a “Maple Magic” tour this Saturday afternoon.

Next month, a little further out in Frederick County, Cunningham Falls State Park will host its 45th annual Maple Syrup Festival over two weekends—March 14 and 15, and March 21 and 22.

Even farther afield, but still in state, it’s interesting to note Garrett County in Western Maryland was once a center of the U.S. maple syrup industry before rising temperatures pushed the industry farther north. Still, there is at least one family, the Stever Brothers, that has been making syrup out there for more than 100 years.

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