WESTFIELD (WWLP) – Maple sugar season is coming to an end for most sugar houses.
The perfect weather to make the maple sap flow is cold nights and warm days, so having a mild winter was not bad for maple sugar houses here in western Massachusetts. A lot has to do with when trees actually start to grow. Once trees start to bud, the syrup gets a bitter taste and that’s when maple sugar houses stop for the season.
The Pomeroy Sugar House in Westfield had a decent season.
“We made about 120 gallons of syrup, which is pretty good for us,” said Rachel Pomeroy, co-owner. “We shoot for about 150 gallons, so it wasn’t a bad year, but it wasn’t a good year.”
“Older” sugar makers insisted that the “mud season” is usually the best season for sugar making, according to Pomeroy.
It takes 35 to 50 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup.
