Sweet syrup produced at Keystone College Sugar Shack
Mar. 5—LA PLUME TWP. — Roman Fenton hopes to use what he learned during a maple syrup demonstration at Keystone College to start his own operation.
As junior Mitchell Davis boiled and filtered syrup Sunday at the Sugar Shack, he asked the 10-year-old Fenton to lend a hand.
"I learned a lot and everybody was so nice," said Fenton, of Archbald. "We have a red maple tree right in front of our house and I want to make my own syrup with it."
Students began tapping maple trees for sap in mid-January and produced the first batch of syrup on Valentine's Day after an arduous process, Davis said.
"It took us about 18 hours of boiling to get there," he said. "We've accumulated 29 gallons of syrup so far in roughly three weeks. Last year, we only had 14 gallons, so we're kind of ahead of the ball a little bit."
While hours spent in the woods tapping trees and repairing tubes may seem laborious, Davis finds it rewarding.
"There really isn't much else to do this time of year," he said. "It's definitely a great way to take some time, be outside and enjoy a product from nature. It's a labor of love. You have to enjoy it if you're going to do it well."
Keystone offers an introductory field biology course on maple sugaring each spring, which fills up quickly, said Kelley Stewart, director of the college's Woodlands Campus.
Julianna Symons of Dunmore signed up early.
"I've heard students talking about it in the past," she said. "Luckily, I had the chance to take it this semester. I learned how to be more patient because of how long it takes to boil the syrup down."
Stewart, who also serves as director of the Keystone College Environmental Education Institute, noted the students got a jump on production this year as nighttime temperatures dipped below freezing and rose above 32 degrees during the day.
She said most trees used in the syrup making process are sugar maples as their average sugar content is 3%. Red maples, which have an average sugar content of 1.5%, are also used, she said.
"The whole process of turning the sap into syrup is evaporating off the water and condensing the sugar," Stewart said. "We bring it up to 67% to 68% sugar."
Joan Peterson of Factoryville attends the open house most years and noticed the number of participants increase during recent trips to the event.
"I love fresh syrup and this is particularly good," she said. "It has a little smoky flavor."
Contact the writer: rtomkavage@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9131; @rtomkavage on Twitter.
