I’m a big fan of Canadian maple syrup and use it often in baking, salad dressings, granola and of course always on pancakes and waffles! So, I couldn’t resist buying and reading Peter Kuitenbrouwer’s beautiful little book simply titled Maple Syrup. He gives us some history, tracing the roots of making maple sugar to the Indigenous people who lived in present-day Quebec and Ontario, a review of events leading to Quebec’s dominance and standard setting in syrup production, the impact of new technologies, and tales of his own experience and those of producers he interviewed, in producing maple syrup and sugar.
Years ago, I lived one winter in Fredericton New Brunswick and was fortunate to be taken by friends in the spring to experience a sugaring-off feast at a nearby sugar bush. One evening we visited the dining hall adjacent to their sugar shack to indulge in pancakes, beans, sausage and lots of fresh maple syrup. This was a regular spring ritual in New Brunswick as it was and is in Quebec, Ontario and where ever maple syrup is produced when the sap starts running as the warm days and cool nights of spring sets the whole process of regeneration in motion. It’s usually a brief period of about six weeks when the maple sap flows in the Acer saccharum also known as hard maple or rock maple trees and the busy-ness of syrup production ensues.
I knew maple syrup production was centered in Eastern Canada so when I read in Kuitenbrouwer’s book that there were eight maple syrup producers in British Columbia, I wanted to know more. I searched the internet for what I could find and the latest information from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (2024) lists only two maple farms in British Columbia in 2021, down from five in 2011. In the 2010s there were several attempts to produce small batch maple syrup from big leaf maples, mainly on Vancouver Island but most of the websites related to these enterprises appear to be now inactive. Titles that can be searched are: alderlanefarmhousebakery.ca (Beneath the Bark maple syrup) and Kleekhoot Gold Bigleaf Maple Syrup https://kleekhootgold.ca. Maple Acres Farm in Maple Ridge advertises its Bigleaf Maple Syrup (although backordered and rare) along with Wildflower Honey. https://mapleacresapiary.ca They explain that it takes a lot more sap and a lot more time to boil down and concentrate big leaf maple syrup compared to Eastern maple syrup which makes it more costly to produce. This may account for fewer people remaining in production with the goal of marketing to the public. There are people who produce their own limited supply of syrup each year and a few who produce on a larger scale in Washington and Oregon where big leaf maples grow.
There are in British Columbia a few companies that import maple syrup from Eastern Canada and use it in a broad range of maple products sold locally and for export. Maple Roch, is a social enterprise based in Summerland that sells New Brunswick produced maple syrups and a range of maple products based on their syrup. https://mapleroch.com (website provides excellent range of recipes using maple syrup). Maple Terroir is based in Vancouver and specializes in maple products such as cookies, stroopwafels, chocolates, and snacks in addition to syrup and sugar. Their focus is wholesale and retail in Canadian and Asian markets. It’s unclear where their maple syrup is sourced other than that it captures “the unique characteristics of Canada’s Appalachian Mountain region.” https://mapleterroir.com (the website contains lots of information on maple syrup and syrup production). There is a place called The Sugar Shack, about 25 minutes south of 100 Mile House on highway 97 that claims everything maple and the best poutine this side of Quebec.
Many years ago, when I lived in Spruce Grove Alberta, I transcribed an interview with Mr. Callihoo, a pioneer of the area. He spoke about how when his ancestors first moved to the area they tapped birch trees for their syrup and sugar. I had not heard of this before, but the Callihoo family had originated in the Kahnawake territory in present day Quebec and would have had experience with producing maple syrup.
This pioneer practice of making birch syrup is in resurgence and Linda Gabris (a newcomer to British Columbia) who learned the maple syrup making process as a young person in Ontario, writes “Equipment needed is pretty basic, but I must confess, making birch syrup requires a lot more footwork and more patience than maple syrup does because maple sap contains twice as much natural sugar as birch sap. As a general rule of thumb, it takes about 25 gallons of birch sap to make one quart of syrup. Since you can book on getting about one gallon (more or less, depending on flow) of sap per tree per day, this gives you a rough idea of how many trees you will need to tap for how many days to make how much syrup, keeping in mind the sap runs for about three weeks” (Gabris, 2024).
Despite the difficulties, making birch syrup is catching on across northern British Columbia and the prairies where birch trees are plentiful in the boreal forest. Some of the producers are Moose Meadows Farm at Bouchie Lake that produces birch syrup and offers workshops and equipment to those wanting to tap birch trees https://www.moosemeadowsfarm.ca/contact-us Kispiox Creations sells birch syrup in three different size of containers http://www.kispioxbirchsyrup.com Aurora View Farms near Prince George sells their birch syrup in addition to beef https://auroraviewfarms.com The Canadian Birch Company, is a Manitoba company formed in 2012 that offers unique products including barbeque and other sauces, birch bacon jam, combo packs and gift packs, as well as a range of syrups. https://canadianbirchcompany.com The website has plenty of information on making birch syrup and offers recipes (many gluten free) and a blog.
It’s the time of year when maple and birch saps start to flow and one might be lucky enough to find a maple or birch syrup festival or open sugar shacks in your neighbourhood. It’s a spring celebration worth watching for!
References
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (2024). “Statistical Overview of the Canadian Maple Industry,” accessed at: https://agriculture.canada.ca/en/sector/horticulture/reports/statistical-overview-canadian-maple-industry-2024#a1.1
Gabris, Linda (2024) “Making Birch Syrup.” British Columbia Magazine, accessed https://www.bcmag.ca/making-birch-syrup/
