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d By Suzanne Veh A major concern in the maple syrup business is cleanliness as the sap gathers bacteria quickly and cannot be held for long before being boil- - sweet, At the end of hours of boil- ing, the sap is released through a cheesecloth strainer into a large milk can. Syrup -- thick, amber-coloured -- -- ed down. Walter cleans out all nothing else can possibly taste Wa j te r M a tt ice -- the holding tanks in the like the real thing: In days gone evaporator at night with by, this syrup would have had Morewood's Mr. Sweet The maple syrup business has come a long way since the days when it could take 15 men working round the clock to operate one bush. Take Walter Mattice's 17 1/2-acre bush near Morewood. The sophisticated, modern setup can be run by one man fresh from a full night's sleep. . Fortunately, there are some things that technology cannot change. The .sweet, intox- icating aroma of boiling maple sap permeates every corner of the Mattice bush. Walter and Mary Mattice and family have been produc- ing and selling syrup for 30 years now. Son Rick operates the business under dad's wat- chful eye (son Bob farms near- Morewood Syrup Producer Walter Mattice by and owns a tractor' ship in Morewood). Although the bulk of today's syrup produc- tion goes to a major food sup- plier, there are many local customers and visitors to the bush from mid-March to mid- April are sure go get a dipper- ful of the sticky ambrosia and a pleasant tour. The trees are still tapped with a spoil but rather than let the sap drip into a bucket, it is sucked 'by vacuum into a 5/16-inch plastic hose to a cen- tral pumphouse. Walter has 6800 taps and 14 miles of plastic line all hooked up to two pumping stations powered by three turbine pumps. In a bad year such as this, when the winter has been hard on the Ae trees, the old bucket system wouldn't get nearly -as much sap as the new vacuum system. A good supply is guaranteed. From the pumping stations the sap travels through 1-inch black plastic lines to the evaporator, where it is even- tually processed into maple syrup. It takes 60-80 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup as the season starts. As the sap -gets richer as the tree runs, it may take only 30-40 gallons to make one gallon. In the evaporator, the sap is kept boiling by oil burners. Mica reflectors are used to intensify the heat. It is not uncommon for Walter to go through more than 1000 gallons of oil when the sap is running. (Suzanne Veh Photo) Sulphamatic Acid to dissolve and clean off any sugar residue in preparation for a fresh start the next day. The pans used for the sap in the evaporator are changed and cleaned every four hours. At the start of each season, all the plastic hose is washed out with a water and chlorine solution. The simple flick of a switch on a control panel forces the cleansing agent into the lines up to the pumphouse and back again, flushing the system. At the end of each season the hose is also flushed and stored in sealed "plastic bags until the following year. to stand overnight, or until cool, and then be tested for proper thickness or doneness. If it was not quite right, it would have to go back into the evaporator and boil all over again. Today, Walter simply uses a Refractrometer. This compact and complex little meter has a small slide on one end on which Walter puts a drop of fresh syrup. He holds the apparatus up to the light and looks through a viewfinder to take a numerical reading. A good reading for maple syrup is 66 or 67. Gizmos aside, the old-fashioned taste test said his was bang on. CARTAGE LTD. CARTAGE rs TRUCKING - LOADER RENTAL Crushed Stone @ Fill © Gravel ® Sand Top Soil & Snow Removal RUSSELL Lloyd 445-2820 Charlie 445-5344 R:S SHELL SERVICE Ron Thibodeau, Manager (Lic. Mech. on duty) Specializing in @® Tune-ups ®@ Wheel Alignment ®@ Wheel Balance ® General Repairs Open 7 a.m. - 9 p.m. Mon. - Sat. P.O. BOX 148 METCALFE, ONT. DORE'S CARPENTRY AND HOME IMPROVEMENT LTD. TELEPHONE 821-1588 © RECREATION ROOMS...GENERAL WORK CUSTOM BUILT HOMES -- FARM BUILDINGS FOUR CORNERS SNACK BAR Kenmore Corners specialists service | in custom drapery, vertical blinds, bedspreads e.r. pollard shop-at-home residential & Custom made Drapes commercial for tree estimates call 235-7743 112 Lisgar Sts + ee ee | | NOW OREN FOR JOHN - rues SOFT ICE CREAM MILK SHAKES CONSTRUCTION General Carpentry: SUNDAES HAMBURGERS HOT DOGS FRENCH FRIES Weekdays to 9 p.m. -- Sunday to 5 p.m. ""<<*"~Qperated by John, Gerry & Craig Ritchie Homes, Renovations, Siding - Farm Buildings: Roofs & Dry Wall Finishing a yj, 5 ' 7, T ree i Pe RR cer Flr IR AT A RD ER BE NEES He Te MOREWOOD, ONT. 448-2683