Our Traditional Syrup Process

Canadian History and Traditional Syrup

With Quebec and Ontario being the largest producers of maple syrup around the world, there is a long history of syrup making in Canada.

“Techniques varied, but Indigenous peoples tapped trees by cutting v-shaped patterns into the bark or by inserting basswood or willow tubes into the tree. Birch-bark bowls were placed beneath the tap to catch the watery sap in early spring, when sap was made into syrup using different methods. Some left the sap out in the cold and threw away the frozen water that separated from the sugary syrup. Others boiled the sap down to syrup by adding hot rocks to birch-bark pots or boiled the sap in clay or metal kettles over a fire”

Written by Leo H. Werner / Updated by Eli Yarhi “Maple Syrup Industry“

Many Indigenous communities developed their own methods of collecting sap. When French and English settlers came to Canada, Indigenous people taught them how to harvest the maple sugar throughout the year. Mass maple sugar production then began in the 1700-1800s. Colonists drilled holes in maple trees and inserted spouts and then hollowed out logs to collect the sap that flowed. The sap was then brought to a ‘sugar shack’ – at Century Maple what we call our ‘sugar camp’— and boiled in kettles over a fire.

Over time there has been innovative ways to shape and change this process to increase production. However, at Century Maple we pride ourselves on tradition and have not changed our process in over 60 years.

Our Traditional Process

We’ve adopted the traditional process of making maple syrup by enhancing the all-natural elements of our maple trees and sap.

Tapping straight from the maple trees in our own sugar bush, we take raw sap and transport through our pipelines to our sugar camp. The sap is then boiled for a period time over our updated wood fire evaporator.

During our process we use all organic materials and practices. We use organic oil to defoam the sap, organic cleaners for our pipeline to ensure proper sanitization and keep the sap fresh. In addition, we use fermented sap to clean our pans.

Our traditional syrup making process has not changed over the years. We’ve only updated equipment to provide more efficient production on our ever-growing farm. Here at Century Maple we pride ourselves on serving quality Sweet Ontario Maple Syrup to keep our customers satisfied.

Check out our other maple products on our online store!