Out 'n' About Wisconsin - Maple Syrup

Written By: Jared Hanson  |  Posted: Monday, April 4th, 2011

            Well, it's Spring; or at least, that is what the calendar says. About this time of year things begin to thaw out, temperatures begin to rise, and we begin to feel like we are coming out of a long and tiresome winter. One of the many outdoor signs of this is the beginning of the Maple Syrup season. Legend has it that a Native American woman set a pail by a maple tree trunk and requested her husband to fetch her some water. The husband became indignant over being asked to do such a menial task, which was a woman's job in that culture, and thrust his hatchet into the tree above the bucket to display his discontent. The next morning the woman went to retrieve the bucket, thinking her husband had filled it and proceeded to cook a meal with it. That meal was definitely sweeter than before, and a new way of sweetening food had been discovered.

            Since then, before the pilgrims arrived, Maple sugar and syrup has been a valuable commodity in American culture. It was among the first things the pilgrims were taught to make upon their arrival here.

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