Rob Hough, the fire chief in this Ogle County village, met his destiny over a roaring fire, but not the kind for which someone calls 911. He was standing in his driveway, where blazing logs were being used to make maple syrup.
Hough remembers the early spring days of his boyhood, when his grandmother would say, “This is sugar weather,” referring to the cold nights and warm days needed for the sap to run. But it wasn’t until about 10 years ago that he revived the family tradition of tapping trees for their sap. That took some coaxing from grandma.
“She went down to the basement,” he recalled, “and brought up a bucket of handmade wooden taps,” taps his great-grandfather had carved from sumac to draw sap from his maple trees. The revival was soon underway.
Hough and his wife, Lynnette, run what he calls a “hobby farm,” where they produce a modest 30 to 50 gallons of syrup each spring.
“It really depends on the year, what the weather does during the season,” he noted.
While the bulk of the nation’s maple syrup comes from New England, especially Vermont, farmers across the Midwest prove their product is just as rich and tasty. Many of them welcome visitors to drop by their farms to learn about this lesser-known aspect of agriculture and to pick up some tasty treats.
At Hough’s Maple Lane Farm, for example, that means not only syrup, but maple-coated pecans, snack mix and the maple leaf-shaped candies Lynnette makes.
“It’s just syrup at a higher boiling point that’s poured into a mold,” she said, making the process sound easier than it actually is.
In Sheboygan, Wis., another farmer’s syrup provides the tasty topping for the already-tempting pancakes and creme brulee French toast at Field to Fork Cafe.
The eatery and adjoining grocery store are both big on locally produced products, with 24 vendors listed on the menu. Among them is their syrup supplier: Drewry Farms, located less than 20 miles away near Plymouth.
Owner Barb Drewry-Zimmerman can trace her family’s maple sugaring back seven generations, to when her ancestors moved west from Vermont in 1847.
“Like all farmers, they made enough to support themselves and maybe a little bit for the neighbors,” she said, adding that the farm now churns out roughly 2,500 gallons a year.
While syrup is sold year-round at the farm, farmers markets and stores, Drewry-Zimmerman said the best time to visit is during the annual open house. This year, it’s March 24.
“When people come to the farm, we take them up to the woods,” she said. “We have two wagons that are pulled by tractors. We talk about everything as we go along.”
Guests also get to tour the sugar house, where water is evaporated from the sap, leaving behind the bronze-colored liquid to be bottled.
Local Boy Scouts will welcome guests with samples of pancakes drenched in Drewry Farms syrup. People can try (and buy) syrup-infused goodies, including breakfast sausage and caramel corn. Cups of hot maple-apple cider will help ward off the chill of treks to the nearby ridge, where hoses link the tapped trees.
This year’s open house — it’s free — will emphasize creative ways for home cooks to incorporate the natural product into their food.
“We’re trying to focus people more on how to use maple syrup for their cooking and baking (rather) than just on their pancakes,” said Drewry-Zimmerman, who marinates and bakes ham in bourbon and maple syrup on special occasions. Salad gets topped with maple balsamic vinaigrette, and side dishes include a rice casserole and carrots, both with a hint of maple. Dessert brings vanilla ice cream topped with homemade maple granola and syrup.
Pure maple syrup can excite the taste buds in beverages too. Veteran Chicago bartender Adam Seger and syrup producer Tim Burton of Medora, Ind., have teamed up to create “Maple Mixologist” cocktails, such as the Hum Rum Daiquiri and Farmhouse Margarita.
“Anything that requires simple syrup can easily be switched out with maple syrup,” Burton said.
Even though Burton’s Maplewood Farm is nearly five hours southeast of Chicago, the farmer has forged strong bonds with folks in the city’s food scene. He’s been a fixture at Green City Market for several years and has sold his syrup to many of the city’s top restaurants, including Naha and The Publican. At Michael Jordan’s Steak House, the syrup has been used as a glaze for double-smoked bacon and in the hot sauce for fried chicken.
Burton’s syrup is in such demand he’s begun buying sap from neighboring farmers. People are clamoring for his barrel-aged syrups with their infusions of bourbon, brandy, rum and whiskey. The booze-infused syrups are aged in oak casks procured from distillers around the country.
“We move these barrels next to the active fire, which is basically a bonfire. That fire heats that barrel from the outside in,” he said. “We’re chasing what’s called the ‘devil’s cut’ into the maple syrup. (That is) the liquor that’s trapped in the barrel.”
Twelve-ounce bottles of the barrel-aged syrup sell for $40. Later this year, Burton will begin offering his limited edition Patriarch Trifecta, aged for three years in bourbon barrels from three Kentucky distillers: Buffalo Trace, Pappy Van Winkle and Woodford Reserve. A 12-ounce bottle will cost $105.
“I’m sure it’s the most expensive syrup that’s ever been sold,” he said.
Visitors who make an appointment in advance are welcome at the farm.
Burton is at his busiest when the sap is flowing.
“The more variance there is between the low temperature and the high temperature, the better the sap will run,” he said. “It’s kind of like a chess match with Mother Nature.”
Jay Jones is a freelance writer.
Maple syrup festivals
Maple syrup festivals are held throughout the Midwest. Here are three upcoming celebrations within 90 minutes of Chicago:
• Festival of the Sugar Maples: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 3-4 and 10-11 at Coral Woods Conservation Center in Marengo.
• Sugarin’ Off Pancake Breakfast: After breakfast, go on a hike through the woods to see how maple syrup gets made. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 4, 11, 18 and 25 at River Bend Nature Center in Racine, Wis.
• Maple Fest: 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. March 17 at Red Oak Nature Center in Batavia.
