Posts Tagged ‘Maple in the County’
Friday, March 30th, 2012
Feeding the Jersey Cows - photo by Wendy Wild
This year, visit John’s farmyard sugar shack and watch him turn sap into syrup in his high-efficiency wood-fired evaporator. Bring the kids for an afternoon in the sand box, in the yard, or a play date in the barn with the new lambs, chickens, pigs and the baby jersey calves, while mom and dad enjoy a delicious maple pork sausage on a bun or a hearty bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup.
JC Nyman Farms
292 Mowbray Road, Picton
613.476.6120
Saturday, March 31 & Sunday, April 1
9am to 5pm
Every March, as John’s parents farmed, he could be found in the sugarbush. Just 12-years old when he built his first sugar shack, today JC Nyman Farms can proudly say it has more than 20 years of maple syrup experience under its belt. Starting out with 40 plastic ice cream buckets 20 years ago, JC Nyman Farms today has 900 taps mostly on pipeline with a few on buckets. Boiling is done in the farm yard sugar shack on a newer high efficiency wood fired evaporator.
John’s picturesque 78 acre farm (located just outside Picton) is ethical, sustainable and animal-friendly. Its mix of productive farm- and pasture-land allow John to produce the very best grass fed lamb, pork, beef, eggs, free-range chickens and turkeys you’ll ever eat.
John maintains an open door policy, encouraging visitors to peek in every nook and cranny to see for themselves that the farm is a happy and healthy place to raise the animals. During Maple in the County don’t be surprised if it’s a riot of adorable lambs bounding around in the barn!
JC Nyman Farms
- -Started in 1993 with 40 taps
- -1994 built sugar house, used cherry pails to gather sap, boiled down on a Grimm syrup pan
- -At age 15 in 1996 he had a used 2X6 Dominion & Grimm evaporator, installed tubing
- -2011 new evaporator and now has 900 taps
Piglets and Lambs - photos by Wendy Wild
Tags: cows, family activities, Farm Animals, JC Nyman Farm, lambs, Maple in the County, Maple Syrup, Outdoor fun, pigs
Posted in Adventures, Family, Food, Maple in the County, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 27th, 2012
Waupoos Winery has always been a supporter of the Maple in the County festival. This year, they’re expanding their programming to include a pancake breakfast in the morning, and a traditional meal of ham and beans in the afternoon – all prepared by Waupoos Chef Scott Royce. They hope to have their marketplace store open in time for the Maple weekend, alongside a petting zoo, maple syrup demos and toffee on snow or ice. Complimentary tastings will be offered at the winery all weekend – and maple syrup will be readily available!
Waupoos Winery & Sugarbush
3016 County Road 8, Waupoos
613.476.8338
www.waupooswinery.com
Kyle Baldwin’sfamily has been making maple syrup for generations. His grandmother’s family began the tradition in Quebec long ago – this was passed down to his father who began making syrup in Consecon in the early 1980’s. Shortly after, Kyle began tapping his own trees and continuing the family legacy. His mother was originally from Waupoos, so it seemed a perfect fit when Kyle began working with Waupoos Winery. Noticing a substantial sugarbush behind the barn on the north side of the property, Kyle finally convinced original owners Ed Neuser & Rita Krauss to allow him to begin tapping the trees in 1997. It’s clear that Kyle has true passion for what he does, and enjoys bringing another great product onto the shelves of the Waupoos tasting room.
Waupoos Estates Winery has expanded to include the North side of their property with three exciting new businesses.
The Marketplace
filled with gourmet foods, packed picnic baskets and the essentials for our boater friends.
The Boathouse
stocked with antique ships, nautical items and man cave favourites.
The Garden Shed
equipped with items to make your garden stand out.
We will also have a petting zoo for the kids, wagon ride tours in our back vineyard and live music events all summer long.
Tags: Maple in the County, Maple Syrup, pancakes, Sugarbush, Waupoos Winery
Posted in Family, Food, Food & Drink, Maple in the County, Prince Edward County, Shopping, Tourism, Uncategorized, Wine | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 21st, 2012
“Shiny toys for the big boys”
Stone’s Maple Syrup,
644 Cty. Rd. 5, Picton, Ontario
613.476.6134
This year, come and see antique tractors—shiny toys for the big boys. Free wagon rides through the sugar bush to the sap shanty. Watch maple syrup being made the time-honoured way: in open pans over a wood-fired evaporator. Maple syrup, maple butter and other maple products available for purchase along with complimentary coffee.
Doug Stone
Doug Stone grew up on a dairy farm. He bought his own farm in 1979, choosing one with an established sugarbush. When he began tapping trees in 1980 he would hang 500 sap buckets then drive around on his tractor emptying each bucket into a big tank to take back to the sugar shack. He built an addition onto the
farm’s original sugar shack and in 1985 bought a new wood-fired evaporator that takes full advantage of the abundance of fallen trees as fuel. (Doug heats his home with wood, too.)
Twenty years on, Doug no longer hangs buckets. Now he drills tap holes and connects each tree to a sturdy plastic line that runs straight to the evaporator.
Doug and his family welcome about 900 visitors for the Maple in the County event. Their antique tractors are a huge attraction, but everybody enjoys the maple butter and maple sugar treats. They can also enjoy a special coffee, made with raw sap instead of water for a very distinctive taste.
Doug says maple producers are a great bunch of people, hard working, supportive and dedicated to the art. They have traveled around Canada to see how other producers work and are active in promoting County maple syrup at events like TASTE! a celebration of regional cuisine.
Trevor Stone
Stone’s Maple Products
- 1979 – started with a few taps and a flat pan
- 1980 – built sugarhouse, first evaporator was a Grimm
- 1985 – new Waterloo evaporator
- 1988 – installed tubing
- 2010 – new welded pans
Wagon Rides
Tags: Antique Tractors, Maple in the County, Maple Syrup, Prince Edward County, Stone's Maple Syrup, Sugar Bush
Posted in Family, Maple in the County, Prince Edward County, Tourism, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Monday, March 19th, 2012
This year, enjoy homemade pancakes, grilled sausages and pure maple syrup—made fresh all day long —for Adults $10, Children $5. Work off that breakfast by taking a walking tour of the sugar bush and learn all about maple syrup production in the sugar shack.
Fosterholm Farms
2234 Cty. Rd. 18, Picton, Ontario,
613.393.5655
www.fosterholmfarms.ca
Cliff Foster’s father started making maple syrup in 1924 at the home farm near Sandbanks. He spent everything he had to buy 75 acres, and at first he lived in the barn because the farm had no house. But it had a sugarbush, and he tapped the trees and hung 375 sap buckets. He worked hard, built a house and eventually bought Outlet Farm that had another good sugarbush. So he bought another 325 buckets.
Now Cliff runs Fosterholm Farms with his son Dean with help from his two grandsons. Each year they tap 7,000 trees, but Cliff and Dean no longer hang buckets – they collect sap by running lines to each tree. Taps and lines go in beginning in January and come out in April.
The Foster family evaporator is oil fired, and with the price of oil rising, Cliff is thankful for his reverse osmosis system that removes 70% of the water from the sap before it even reaches the evaporator making huge savings on boiling time. It’s a tough machine, built in 1967 and going strong.
Maple in the County kicks off the season for the Foster family, and in 2005 a thousand people visited them in the sugar shack to enjoy home made pancakes with sausages and as much maple syrup as they wanted. Cliff is generous with his syrup and puts big jugfuls on the table for guests to help themselves. His dad would be proud!
Timeline
- 1924 -Fosterholm Farms started in with 267 buckets and a 2X8 Lightning evaporator
- 1967 -built new sugarhouse and had a 4X12 Lightning evaporator
- 1970 -started to use tubing
- 2001 -had a 5X14 oil-fired evaporator
- 2003 -built on a bottling room
- 2007 -bought a Reverse Osmosis machine
- 2011 -inducted into the Quinte Local Maple Hall of Fame
Tags: family activities, Maple in the County, Maple Syrup, outdoors, pancakes, Picton, Prince Edward County, sugar shack
Posted in Family, Food, Food & Drink, Fosterholm Farms, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, March 9th, 2012
Left to Right: Chef Luis de Sousa (Amelia's at the Waring House Restaurant, Inn, Spa & Cookery School), Chef Michael Hoy (The Inn at Huff Estates), Chef Lili Sullivan (East & Main Bistro), Chef Michael Sullivan (Merrill Inn), Chef Scott Royce (Gazebo Restaurant at Waupoos Estates Winery), Chef Elliot Reynolds (Clara's at the Claramount Inn & Spa)
8 Restaurants, 3 weeks, great accommodation packages
Celebrate spring by treating your taste buds! If you love fine dining, plan on being overwhelmed during Countylicious (March 28 – April 21), when eight of Prince Edward County’s top restaurants take part in the County’s favourite culinary promotion featuring $30 and $35 prix fixe menus.
Dinner menus, created by participating chefs exclusively for Countylicious, include a starter, entrée and dessert and will feature local and seasonal products. Participating restaurants are: Amelia’s Garden at The Waring House, The Bloomfield Carriage House Restaurant, Clara’s at the Claramount, Inn & Spa, East and Main Bistro, The Merrill Inn, The Gazebo Restaurant at Waupoos Winery, The Inn at Huff Estates Winery, and Pomodoro. Don’t miss your chance to dine on delectable food with a reasonable price tag. (Please note beverages, taxes and gratuity are additional.) Call restaurants direct to book…and bon appétit!
Look for maple syrup on the menu – the County’s first harvest. The 11th annual Maple in the County Festival coincides with the kick-off week of Countylicious – see www.mapleinthecounty.ca for full programming.
Make your Countylicious experience more than just a culinary delight by taking advantage of some of Ontario’s finest hospitality with Countylicious accommodation packages. See website for details.
For more information regarding Countylicious, visit www.countylicious.ca or call 613.393.2796 or 1.866.845.6644.
Tags: Countylicious, fine dining, Food, Maple in the County, Picton, Prince Edward County, Restaurants
Posted in Food & Drink, Maple in the County, Prince Edward County | No Comments »
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