Katy Sparks Talks with Bill and Elaine Markham
Bill and Elaine Markham’s Mill Brook Sugarhouse in Lenox is a New England classic. Nestled into a working grove of sugar maples, it’s a small timbered structure in which every square foot is dedicated to making and merchandizing their maple products. The pristine evaporator gleams in anticipation of being put to work again this coming March and April. The retail cases are organized by grade of syrup, so whether you’re a fan of the delicate flavor of golden syrup, prefer the richer and more robust flavor of the dark, or favor the in-between amber, they have you covered. And for the bakers among us there is the very dark, which is strong enough to deliver that maple flavor in your favorite recipes. I also grabbed a small container of maple sugar to enjoy a pinch on morning toast.
According to the Massachusetts Maple Producers Association, all grades of the syrup are the same in terms of density and sugar content. Their website further provides an easy conversion guide if you want to swap in maple for refined white sugar: It’s a 1:1 swap if using both maple sugar and maple syrup; if you are using maple syrup exclusively, it’s still 1:1, but you will want to reduce any other liquids in the recipe by half.
Maple syrup contains healthy ingredients like manganese, zinc, magnesium, potassium, antioxidants, and the list goes on.
KS: How did you two get into maple sugaring?
Bill: My father got me interested back in the 1960s in a very rustic way—a homemade, outdoor evaporating pan over a wood fire. Elaine and I started our operation part time in 1979. Today, we tap 1,350 trees and plan to expand by 200 or 300 more. For our production to be consistent and deliver that pure maple flavor that people want, we don’t evaporate over wood anymore, we use an oil-fueled burner. In the maple world, smokiness in the syrup is considered an off flavor and is not desirable.
KS: So business is good?
Elaine: It really is. Covid was a good boost because people really wanted to come out and walk the property with us, see the trees and then see the sugarhouse as a family outing. And that hasn’t let up. Also, we have more time to devote to getting out there and marketing our products at farmers markets and food festivals like the Lenox Apple Squeeze. We love having folks come to the sugarhouse, and there’s no need to book a tour ahead—just come on over.
KS: What elements contribute to the quality of your syrup?
Bill: The flavor starts in the soil that supports our trees. We have good, deep, loamy soil with a north-northwest face that gives a higher yield per tree. You want those cold nights and above freezing days to really get the sap running—you’re looking for a strong freeze/thaw cycle every day during sugaring season to build up pressure and get the sap into the collection tubing. Also, Elaine and I attend grading workshops presented by the Massachusetts Maple Producers Association, so we keep our knowledge up to date and our palates tuned and alert to any off-flavors in the sap like woodiness or dampness.
KS: Has climate change had a noticeable impact on your season?
Bill: Yes. The season starts a little earlier. We are in the woods over Christmastime to start putting in the drill holes, and the season is in full swing all of March and the first week of April. Because last year was so wet, the usual ratio of 40 gallons of sap to yield one gallon of syrup was up to 63:1. Another thing that affects that ratio is whether it is a seed year for the trees, which last year was. In a seed year, the trees need to keep the sugar for seed-making themselves. But we aim to keep our maple products affordable for everyone, so our prices don’t change much even when the yield is lower.
KS: Are there health benefits to using maple syrup and maple sugar as a sweetener in place of refined sugar?
Elaine: Yes, definitely! Maple syrup contains healthy ingredients like manganese, zinc, magnesium, potassium, antioxidants, and the list goes on. We have people who love local honey as a sweetener also branch into our maple syrup once they learn about its health benefits.
Mill Brook Sugarhouse
409 New Lenox Rd., Lenox
413-298-3473
millbrookmaplestore.com
