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Preface

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MAPLE SUGARING is a New England icon. Galvanized buckets hanging from trees above snow-covered ground and rising steam from an evaporator are among the most enduring, endearing, and engaging images of the region. A substantial amount of syrup is produced in other states, and by far most comes from Canada, but in the public mind New England is the maple capital. The following pages explore why.

Sugaring highlights and fosters a surprisingly wide range of classic New England characteristics. Among them are respect for deep history, Yankee ingenuity, connection to nature, affection for rural simplicity, sustainability, a strong work ethic, determination to prevail, hope for the future, savvy marketing, self-reliance, coping with variable weather, and delighting in homey foods. And while much nostalgia and some hyperbole are embedded in such attributes, they also remain remarkably viable. They are qualities from which readers in all walks of life and living anywhere in the world can draw inspiration.

There are many fine books on maple sugaring. Most of them are histories, personal chronicles, or about how to make syrup. This volume is not a history, a memoir, or a guide to producing a product. It partakes of some of these features, but more than detailing the past, the routines of sugaring, and the process of making syrup, I try to capture, however imperfectly, the indomitable spirit of those who tap and boil sap. Through my own experiences making syrup and the lively stories of many sugarmakers throughout the six New England states, I examine the sugaring way of life. I wanted to know what inflamed the passion of sugarmakers despite the hard work, yearly gamble with the weather, and other challenges.

Through the eyes of those who make syrup, scientists, government officials, equipment dealers and manufacturers, educators, and others, this book looks at community and family life, the advance of technology, heritage values, innovative products and nutrition, environmental issues like climate change and invasive species, marketing, the joy of trees and forests, agriculture as entertainment, and other matters. Doing so paints an impressionist-like picture of a landscape and its people.

Few activities so tightly bind culture and nature as maple sugaring. Rarely does an undertaking fuse the individuals involved so perfectly with the territory in which they live. With necessary conditions limited to a small corner of the planet, maple syrup is a true marker of place.

So long as sugarmakers inspire curious people to tap trees in their backyards or down the street, and children of all ages stand wide-eyed watching sap boil, maple syrup will embody the essence of New England. Join me discovering a labor of materiality and myth, space and time, muscle and soil, sweat and sweetness. New horizons beckon from a time-honored process.

Maple Sugaring