Ancient maple forests will lead you to Canada's sweetest destinations for spring adventure: sugar-bush country in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, PEI and Nova Scotia comes to live again.
There is even a sugar-bush in downtown Ottawa!
As snow retreats from the country side and the day temperatures climb into the positive digits, maple juice flows freely into the buckets, attached to towering maple trees. The air is filled with music and aromas of sweetened pancakes and smoked ham. These yearly festivities are fun for the whole family.
Everone is excited when hot maple syrup is poured into crashed ice or snow, quickly turning into a sweet delicious treat. Huge ovens are filled with fresh maple juice, cooking it slowly down to syrup. Indulge in pan cakes, generously topped with maple syrup and take home some sweet presents or stock up for the rest of the year. Maple Syrup is a healthy sweetener (containing vitamines, manganese and zinc)and adds great flavour to ham or beans. Taste a drink that is called `Caribou`, a unique blend of red wine, whisky and maple sap.
Visiting a sugar shack is a great experience. In fact, there’s probably no better way to get acquainted with early Canadian country culture.
The first colonists of Eastern Canada may have been puzzled when they saw the Natives cutting notches in the maple trees with their tomahawks in order to collect a mysterious liquid. With the expertise born of 300 years of experience, Canadians, especially Quebecers take credit for more than three-quarters of the world’s maple syrup production. There is even a giant Maple Syrup Festival in Quebec.
Read more about Maple Syrup:
http://www.canadianmaplesyrup.com/maplehistory.html
http://www.ontariomaple.com/
http://www.citadelle-camp.coop/maple-syrup/index.aspx
http://maple.infor.ca/?lang=en
http://www.atlanticfarmfocus.ca/index.cfm?sid=333061&sc=593
http://www.novascotiamaplesyrup.com/
http://www.festivaldelerable.com/
