Go mad for maple

WAKEMAN — Ever wonder how maple syrup is made? At a Wakeman Maple Farms open house, guests can not only learn all the steps in making maple syrup, but also collect the sap from a maple tree and bottle it at the end. The farm is owned and operated by Doug and Janet Bowman and their son, Caleb Kiser. Doug has more than 20 years of experience, and once Janet had bought her husband an evaporator for Christmas about nine years ago, the family turned it into a prosperous business. Maple syrup season is only a few weeks due to needing freezing temperatures at night and above freezing during the day. At the Open House, Janet said "visitors get to enjoy a hands-on experience of harvesting maple sap, then processing it into maple syrup. Guests are guided and actually try drilling a hole into a maple tree and tapping a spile into the tree." Guests then hang a bag or bucket on the spile to collect the sap from the tree. It can take a little for the sap to collect enough to take the bag off, so guests are able to collect the sap from trees that have already been tapped. "Guests then carry their buckets of sap to the holding tank at the sugar house," Janet said. "Then they see (and smell) the sap being boiled in the continuous flow, wood fired evaporator." While at the evaporator, those in attendance can learn how thermometers and hydrometers test the temperature and density, which all determine when the syrup is finished boiling. Syrup reaches its proper density at 219 degrees. "They see the automatic draw off system and the vacuum filter process as the finished syrup goes through these stages and into a canning unit," Janet said. "Then each person can purchase whatever size and shape bottle to buy and fill it themselves, with the help of the staff." The temperature when pouring the syrup into its container should be around 190 to 210 degrees. If it is too hot the syrup will turn into candy. Each bottle has a seal similar to that of a milk jug. The hot syrup seals it shut. In about ten to fifteen minutes, the bottles are ready to take home. While waiting for their fresh bottled syrup to cool, guests can peruse other local vendors including Sweet Lou's Home Bakery, Gibson's Herbal Gatherings, Jenn-crafted, Palmer Maple Confections and Tipsy with a Lil Class; food from RoboBro's BBQ and photos by Nathan Thorn Photography. Doug was "nicknamed Mr. Maple Man by the staff last weekend. We (Doug, Janet and Caleb) laugh at and cherish this because we are so incredibly grateful for the staff that helps make syrup season and the Open Houses successful," said Janet. "This weekend's Open House is going to feature new additions or big upgrades to the evaporator that just arrived this week." Want to go? When: Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Where: 6579 Ferry Road Wakeman, OH 44889