The Huron Expositor, 1977-03-31, Page 22rt
11 •
It's
THE HURON EXPOSITOR MARCH: 31, 1977
264 .6,44
ALBERT SCHILBE (Right) answers questions about
sugaring asked by one of his visitors. The lid on the
pans is up letting the steam into the sugar house
rather than going up the stack.
DORIS SCHILBE c refully fills a,can with syrup tier
husband poured off the evaporator early in the day.
The Schilbe sugar buslness is family run and all the
syrup is sold locally as fast as it can be made.
time
CONSTANT WATCH must be kept on the
temperature of the sap during bdiling. Here the sap
bubbles around the 'thermometer in a side pan on
Schilbe's evaporator.
MIMI M.
But if the temperature goes above
50 degress farenheit the sap stops
running. Looks like its over for
this year.
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(by Dave Robb)
• In March the sun is getting
around to the right side of the line
fence. The days are warmer and
leriger; bin the nights still have
that winter nip' in, the air. The
.snow that's been accumulating hall
winter becomes heaps of crystals
and begins its descent downward
into the water table. The Indians
named this, the time of the sugar
snow.it was not only the begin-
ning of life for a new season but
also time to collect Maple Sap for
THE MAIN LINE The plastictubes from each tree
Or group of trees meets a main line pipe to the tank
outside the sugar hol.i8e. The whole system works on
gravity arid the sap is enclosed atell times keeping it
clean.
6N •
next years sugar diet.
The AlgonqUin s-called maple
sugar sinzibuckwud (Drawn from
Wood). The Ojibway tribe called
the Maple Ninautik (Our own tree)
and Maple Sugar was a carefully
rationed and important part of the
native diet.
After seeing the Indian women
prepare this sweet syrup frorn.a
tree,, of all things, the. early
French settlers in Canada, were
amazed at how_good it was.Sugar
'was hard to come by from France;
and Maple Sugar filled the bill.
• TO some folk it was eYed better.
. Methods Change
Down through the years our
methods of making "Indian'Stigar
or Malasses," have changed. So
has need for 'the product..
Maple products because- of their
availability and :price have
become a delicacy, but the taste
of the end result has been the
same Since the- begmning• of
time.
Ideal sugaring Weather, is a -20
_degreSs, farenheit night followed
by a clear sunny day with 45 ,
degrees .farenheit midday ,
temperatures. When that
happens you must be ready. As
the days begin to -warm in late
February and early March a flurry,
Of-activity is evident around the
small wooden or steel clad sugar
houses in..Ontario's maple groves,
It's almost sugar time.
Albert Schilbe of. RR 1 Bavfield
has been sugaring for some ten
years now. He and his wife Doris
and three children have been
making -sy'rit-P at thei- ptcsant
sugar house for six seasonse
Located en the old Bayfield Road
west 3f Clinton the Schilbe's
operation is efficient, clean and
friendly.
Albert and his 4son .Eric tap
about 2000 Maple trees which
allow thein about 2400 taps.
There's no old fashiimed- bucket
collecting to their operation. The
taps are connected by hundredsof
feet of plastic tubing about 3/8 in
diameter.' The sap ,‘ficifvs
gravitrithrOug these' lines‘ to a
central two inch plastic tube
which delivers the sap to a
stainless steel bulk tank outside
the sugar house.
'From there the clear liquid is
pumped to ' another bulk, tank
about 8 ft above ground. The sap
is then gravity fed when needed
-into the evaporator by a -two foot
control system.
Steam and Smoke • •
As you enter Schilbe's sugar ,
house, a steel .clad building
•belching steam and wood 'smoke;
that never forgotten smell of
sweetened steam - mixed with
wood smoke fills the warm humid
air. Albet's wife Doris. assisted
I'S/. 'their, daughter Diane,' gives
the visitors a taste of the precious-,
nectar, andJooks after sales,.
Albert and Eric are constantly
fixing the evaporator and
checking temperatures. A few
chairs are ayailabie to rest one's ,
bones and watch the process as it
progresses.
. 50 Gallons to.One
The sap must be heated first by
steam and then in the 'evaporator
pans to 7 degress above boiling
(219 degress farenheit)., It takes
an average of 50 gallons ofi„sap to '.
make one gallon of ' 'syrup_
altholigh Albert explains "It
varies with 'the weather". The
saps sugar content can vary any
•
where from 1 percento 12 pet-cent
solution.
The Schilbe evaporator, made
by Small Brothers, holds 150 to
200 gallons of sap before boiling.
To get the right temperature and
concentration of maple sugar
water (syrup) takes about three to
four hours but once the unit is at
temperature two gallons of syrup -
per hour are poured off through
the fine" cloth strainers to ensure •
final purity and cleanliness-.
Albert Schilbe's syrup sells for,
$14.00 per gallon 'at the sugar
house. The can I got was still
warm. That night the pancakes
seemed to taste a whole lot better
than they had before. Was it
because I know }tow much work
and care had,gone into that can or
because, I had bought it in
Schilbe's sweet steam and smoke
scented sugar house? The
conclusion, a little of both but it is
also- damned good syrup.
When I asked Albert about the
season he shruged and said. 'It .
usually lasts two or three weeks_._..__.
This year we started production
on the 24th of February bin if the
weather might, stay, warm it
be -all over for another year".
- John Burroughs the American
Naturalist says, "The moment
the, contest, between sun and frost
begins, "Sugar weather hegins"
Smiles
Wife: "Do you realize, that -you
talk in your sleep?"
Hubby: "And you begrudge
me those few. words?"
ERVIS
PLASTIC IS THE WAY TO GO — The old wood and
metal spiles and buckets and hand collecting aren't
used in the- Schilbe operation, These plastic spites
(about 2400 of them) areconnected to plastic tubing. s
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