Here in Michigan, we're just a bunch of saps

Michigan's maple syrup producers pumped out around 100,000 gallons of maple syrup this year. That's the most since 110,000 were produced in 1964 according to WWMT.com. Michigan ranks sixth in the nation in maple syrup production with Vermont leading the way with 500,000 gallons produced in 2008. On average, it takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of maple syrup.

Quick Fact: Native Americans harvested maple sap to get their sweet tooth fix. Since they didn't have a way to hold it in syrup form they boiled the sap down to maple sugar for a nice portable sweetener.

For more information on Michigan's maple syrup production visit the Michigan Maple Syrup Association.

Check Out the Sugar Shack

The sap is running. No, not the village idiot that has cabin fever and runs through the woods in nothing but his flannel pajamas. The sap from Maple trees, of course. Sap will run for approximately 15 hours after it thaws, then it waits for the next cycle to run again. The folks at the Sugar Shack in Maple City offer free tours and tasting. They eagerly anticipate this annual ritual so they can process gallon after gallon of the sweet stuff.

The sugar house is set in the rolling, wooded hills south of Glen Lake. The farm consists of pumping stations, miles of tubing, and the sugar house with its country store at the front. Miles of tubing and a huge stainless steel evaporator help to boil 40 gallons of sap to make just one gallon of maple syrup. If you think you have had real maple syrup, check the label on the grocery store syrup. Chances are there isn't even a drop of real maple in its contents.

If you go: The Sugar Shack is located 15 miles west of Traverse City. From M-72 turn north on Fritz Road and in a quarter mile turn west on Baatz Road where the farm is 1.5 miles on the left. During syrup season and summer the store is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and until noon on Saturday. Tours and tasting are free.

Getting Sappy Makes me Happy

I love maple syrup. My pancakes become rafts floating in a carmel colored pool of sweet sticky goodness. You can keep your jams and other fruit-flavored syrups. I'll take mine with maple, thank-you. Call me old-fashioned or plain. I don't mind. To me, nothing tastes as good on pancakes as pure Michigan Maple Syrup. Yum!

Another breakfast use for maple syrup that I enjoy is putting it on my oatmeal with a little brown sugar. You can probably call me old-fashioned for eating regular oatmeal, too.

Did you know maple syrup was the sweetener of choice for Michigan's Native Americans? They had figured out how to boil it down and concentrate the sweetness. It takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup. So, in case you thought you could go out in your yard and tap a couple of your maples to save some money, you better think again. You need a large grove of sugar maple trees (called a sugar bush) to collect enough sap for making maple syrup.

Here are some maple syrup facts courtesy of the Michigan Maple Syrup Producers Association:

• Michigan produces about 80,000 gallons of maple syrup each year
• Michigan ranks 6th in the nation in maple syrup production
• Maple syrup is one of the few agricultural products where demand exceeds supply
• When trees bud out the sap becomes bitter, this is what makes production cease
• Pure Michigan maple syrup has 50 calories per tablespoon and is fat-free

Hartwick Pines is holding their annual Maple Syrup Day this Saturday, March 25. Read about it in the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

Read about a Milford family that makes their own maple syrup in a suburban setting.