Published: March 17, 2008 11:19 pm      

Syrup producers go with the flow

ROCKWOOD — Eric Arnold sees the signs – the knotty buds on the maple trees and the fluttering killdeer.

It means the end of maple season to the two-time maple king at the Pennsylvania Maple Festival. And, for the Arnold family of Arnold’s Sugar Camp, the season only began in mid-February.

The Arnolds and other producers are holding out hope for optimal weather in the next few weeks to ensure a good harvest of medium and dark syrup.

Early season sap yields the lighter syrup, perfect for maple cream and candy. But the darker syrup holds a stronger maple flavor, best for pancakes.

“There is so much more demand for (tableside) maple syrup,” said Arnold, who has been helping to make maple syrup since the family’s sugar camp opened in 1984.

“For all the work, there are good points and bad points,” Arnold said, mentioning that he stayed in the small wooden camp working on a reverse-osmosis machine until the wee hours of the morning recently.

“You definitely are not getting the money out of it.”

An expert with Penn State’s Cooperative Extension said many producers are working on a comeback from last year’s dismal season.

The trick to a good crop is watching the temperatures and choosing the right time to start harvesting, said Bob Hansen, maple products specialist.

“It is almost exclusively weather-related,” he said.

When the thermometer dips just below freezing at night and rises to 40 degrees and above during the day, that is the time to start gathering sweet water from maples. But taps can dry up if made too early. So a producer could harvest too early and waste perfect weather later in the season, when sap yields darker syrups, he said.

Weather for the week ahead is promising.

To see an old-fashioned maple production video, visit the state Maple Festival’s site, pamaplefestival.com.