Maple sugaring is a sweet way to bring light to the gloomy late winter months. I grew up in Maine and, although I didn’t go maple sugaring as a kid, I had the chance to learn about the tradition in my late teens. Maple sugar is a wonderful gift from the trees each winter and maple sugaring is a meaningful way to come into relationship with them. With these maple sugaring books, you can learn about the tradition, too.
In this article, I’m going to go over the best maple sugaring books on the market. All three books are written by experts and are well-loved by maple sugar-ists. Plus, I talk about some maple sugaring history. Let’s get into it!
A Little Bit About Maple Sugaring
Practiced every winter in the Northeast and Great Lakes regions of North America, maple sugaring happens everywhere sugar maples grow! Sugar maples (Acer saccharum) grow throughout these regions and produce a sap rich in sweetness. Very watery when it first comes out of the trees, the sap is boiled down to create the thick syrup and maple sugar we all know and love. Natives in these regions were the first to discover this and are the ones who created the maple sugaring tradition. Adopted by colonists, the tradition continues in many communities today.
Maple Sugaring Books
If you want to learn about maple sugaring, these books are sure to give you what you need. As a Mainer, I learned about maple sugaring from doing it with friends in the wintertime. However, even if you already have a similar experience with maple sugaring, these books will help you get serious. Especially if you’re interested in making maple sugaring into a sustainable business, these books will help teach you what you need to learn to make your goals happen. Let’s get into them!
The Sugarmaker’s Companion by Michael Farrell
The Sugarmaker’s Companion is the first guide of its kind addressing the small- and large-scale syrup producer seeking to make a profitable business from maple, birch, and walnut sap. This comprehensive work incorporates valuable information on ecological forest management, value-added products, and the most up-to-date techniques for sap collection and processing. It is, most importantly, a guide to an integrated sugaring operation, interconnected to the whole-farm system, woodland, and community.
Maple Sugar by Tim Herd
Explore the fascinating history of maple sugaring in this informative guide to all things syrup, Maple Sugar. From the tap on the tree to the pancakes on your plate, Herd explains every nuanced step of the sugaring process. Learn to identify different kinds of maple trees and get inspired to tap the sugar maples in your backyard. Herd also includes tempting recipes that use syrup in old-fashioned treats like maple nut bread, maple eggnog, and pecan pie.
Backyard Sugarin’ by Rink Mann
This little book swept maple sugarin’ buffs off their feet when it first appeared and is still the top-selling guide to the craft after over 40 years in print. Backyard Sugarin’ tells you how you can make maple syrup right in your own backyard without having to build a sap house or buy buckets, holding tanks, evaporators, and other expensive paraphernalia. With detailed “how-to” information and tips from sugarers across the country, this is the only maple sugaring guide you’ll ever need.
BONUS BOOK: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Braiding Sweetgrass isn’t directly about maple sugaring. However, there is a wonderful Iroquois story about the practice. Maple sugaring was a practice in the Northeast long before colonizers settled the land and adopted the practice. This story outlines how maple sugaring became a practice and what it has to teach us.
This is a wonderful book I recommend to everyone generally. As my favorite book, it weaves together science, stories, and Native wisdom in ways that are grounding and important.
Summary: Maple Sugaring Books
Maple sugaring is a profound way to connect with the trees and shed some sweet, golden light in the gloomy winter months. Practiced for hundreds of years before Europeans arrived on New England shores, it’s an important and delicious tradition to uphold.
In this article, I gave you three wonderful maple sugaring books to read so you can learn about the tradition yourself. Plus, I talked about a fourth bonus book that includes an important story of the teachings of maple trees that I hope you’ll read.
I’m an avid reader and have lots of book suggestions on many topics. If you want more book suggestions, check out this article on all of my favorite botanical books. This article is like a dumping ground for all of the book lists I create here on my blog. There are book lists on topics from herbalism and permaculture to trauma healing and illustration.
Have you read any of these books? Do you have other recommended resources on maple sugaring? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, I would love to hear from you!
And remember to click the links above to buy these books for yourself!
Thanks for stopping by and happy sugaring!
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