Maple syrup festival features 'Mother Nature at its best'

Mar. 12—A frothy boil bubbled at the top of a black kettle Sunday as Rich Doney took a ladle and scooped a small amount before pouring it back in to finish its preparation into sweet, sugary goodness.

Doney and several other volunteers at the Maple Syrup Festival at Cunningham Falls State Park near Thurmont had taken on the responsibility of creating the main attraction: a vat of fresh, homegrown maple syrup.

For several hours, they had stoked the roaring fire consuming the logs propped beneath the cauldron, turning sap from the park's maple trees into topping for pancakes, waffles and other sweet delights.

There was really only one rule for making quality maple syrup, said Chris Pigula, another volunteer.

"Just don't let it burn," he said.

Perhaps easier said than done in a process where Doney said the watery sap that had been collected would reach about 219 degrees Fahrenheit.

The boiling process is necessary because the sap is about 98% water and 2% sugar, requiring about 40 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup, Doney said.

Indeed, the raw sap looks essentially like water, with none of the dark, caramelly color of the finished product to be poured over a stack of pancakes.

They had tapped about 20 trees in the park, mostly red maples but some sugar maples, with metal buckets to collect the sap, he said.

The mild winter had led to less sap than usual, he said.

The ideal weather features cold nights and warm days, causing the sap to rise from the trees' roots and circulate before returning to the roots.

Rob Rhodes said he is planning to make some syrup on his own, and came to Sunday's festival to watch the demonstration.

He'd been doing some reading and watching videos to get an idea of the process, but it was interesting to see the process at the festival as compared to commercial evaporators, Rhodes said.

Dawn Lowry of Baltimore said she's been coming to the festival since she was a kid, and it's essentially the same.

It's a nice event and the people who put it on are always pleasant and informative, she said.

And it's great to see a process done without chemicals or other substances, she said.

"[It's] Mother Nature at its best," she said.

The Maple Syrup Festival continues March 18 and 19.

Follow Ryan Marshall on Twitter: @RMarshallFNP