HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1989-03-29, Page 3THE HURON EXPOSITOR, MARCH 29, 1989 — 3A
Pullen brothers malts maple syrup a smell business
When settlers first arrived in Eastern
Canada they learned from Indians how to
make syrup from the sap of maple trees.
Three hundred years later, 1,600 producers
in Ontario sell this product at an average
price of $14 per litre.
Brothers Dave and Mlle Pullen are two
Seaforth area producers who have been tap-
ping maple sap for the past nine years, and
they have consistently expanded their
operation each year to the point where their
spring hobby has become a spring business.
Dave, 21, and Mike, 18, started their syrup
production about nine years ago when they
tapped some of the maple trees in the front
yard at their home, located on Highway 8
west of Seaforth. Dave says they had pails to
gather sap, and they boiled the sap in the
kitchen of their home for days and days.
This year Dave says he and Mike have
over 600 taps, and may be going to 700 next
year. Last year they began experimenting
with pipeline, and this year about half of
their taps are on pipelines which carry the
sap to barrels. And to further modernize
their business the brothers purchased an
evaporator this year to faster boil their sap
into syrup.
"We consider it a small business,
although most would consider it a hobby,"
says Dave.
Last year was a reasonable year for syrup
producers, and Dave says they boiled about
4,000 gallons of sap into just over 100 gallons
of syrup. And they have no problem
marketing their product, "we sell out by
orders from previous customers."
Some old timers who boil off their sap in
the traditional way in an open pan would
claim you need a bit of charcoal in your
syrup for flavor, and that's missed in an
evaporator.
"It depends what you're shooting for," ex-
plains Dave. "We're shooting for proper
density. If your syrup gets too thin it will fer-
ment, and if it gets too thick it will
crystalize."
And the evaporator will also cut down on
the amount of time they have to spend boil-
ing sap.
With syrup selling at between $34 and $50
per four litres, it would seem that someone
producing 400 litres of syrup could make a
fast dollar. But the Pullen Brothers say
there is a lot of work involved in maple
syrup season.
Many hours go into gathering and piling
lumber to feed the fires for their evaporator,
before the season starts. Then they have to
bore holes, set up their pipelines and
buckets, gather the sap into tanks as it fills
their barrels and buckets, then feed the fires
and watch that the sap doesn't boil over in
the evaporator. , Dave says that during
maple syrup season his day usually begins
around 7:30 a.m. and may last until mid-
night. In the past, when they had a good run
of sap, they had to boil all day and all night
to keep up with the sap coming in.
But although they look upon syrup produc-
tion as a business, it is still something of a
hobby. - 'Dern to page 11
RUNNING OFF THE SYRUP - Dave Pullen of Pullen Brothers
Syrup filters some freshly boiled maple syrup from an evaporator
into a can. Pullen Brothers are located on Highway 8 west of
Seaforth, and have been tapping maple sap for about the past
nine years. This 'year Dave and his brother Mike invested in
pipeline and an evaporator for their business, to faster convert
their sap into syrup. Corbett photo.
THg POLLEN RESIDENCE, east of Seaforth on Highway 6, is where the Pullen
Brothers began their syrup business. About nine years ago, when Dave was 12 and ,
Mike was nine, the brothers tapped these trees in their front yard, and boiled the sap in-
to syrup in their mother's kitchen. Corbett photo..
PULLEN BROTHERS SYRUP is the small business Mike (left) and Dave Pullen have
been operating each spring for several years, and their business has grown 10 where
they now run about 600 taps, and have this year added pipeline and an evaporator to
their maple syrup operation. Corbett photo.
GATHERING SAP - Dave Pullen dumps a
bucket of sap into a holding tank which
feeds an evaporator. Dave and his brother
Mike put in a lot of hours gathering wood,
setting up taps, collecting sap, boiling sap,
and marketting syrup each year during the
maple syrup season. Corbett photo.
MIKE PULLEN shows the easy way to drill a tap hole in a maple tree, while his brother
Dave waits to set a spite and bucket on the tree. Corbett photo.
CHECKINGTHESARRELS•that.are fed by pipelines, Dave Pullen
finds that the.sap:has been running slowly so far this: season.' For
there .to ,be a good:sap run temperatures'munt be at least flve
degrees celslusiduring°the'day, andthere,mustbe•'a4rostat.night.
The season has;been late this year, and•as soon as the trees -go to
,buddhemaple syrup season,ends,.but;the f jien brothers.are still
;optimistic about this year. Corbett photo.
Wed . , March 29
1-3 p.m. — Parents and Tots Skating
1:30-4 p.m. — Senior Shuffleboard
4:30-5:30 pm — Tweens Ringette
5:30-7 p.m. — Bantam Hockey Practice
7.9 p.m. — Joint Registration for Summer
Program at SDCC
8 p.m. — Ladies' Broomball
Thurs., March 30
4:30-5:30 p.m. — PeeWee 1I Practice
5:30.6:30 p.m. — PeeWee I Practice
6:30.8 p.m. — Junior Broomball
7-9 p.m. — Joint Registration at SDCC
8 p.m. — Ladles' Broomball
Fri . , March 31
6-6 p.m. — Junior Housaleague
;6.1 p.m. — Senior Houseleague
Sat., April 1
9 a.m.-3 p.m. — Minor Hockey Wrap-up
1:30-2:30 p.m. — Story Hour at Seaforth
Library
Sun., April 2
1:00 p.m. — Seaforth Optimist Club
Canoe Race
Mon, April 3
7:30 p.m. — Ringette Meeting - All parents
welcome
Wed., April 5
1.3 p.m. — Parents 8 Tots Skating
(last Ice time)
7:30 p.m. — Adult Ringette. Everybody
Aver 18 1s welcome